Recession Adds to Appeal of Short-Term Jobs

NORCROSS, Ga. — Michael Sinclair knows that in a few months, his stint in the marketing department of a health care manufacturing company here north of Atlanta is set to end.

He has been with the company for only six months, but he is not dismayed. In fact, he actually prefers his life as an independent contractor — constantly being laid off and rehired, sometimes juggling multiple jobs — to his old corporate position.

“I think it’s far less risky than being in a full-time job somewhere and cut at will and left with nothing,” Mr. Sinclair said. “I see this as the way more people will work in the future.”

Economists believe that Mr. Sinclair’s situation has become increasingly common. What is known as “contingent work,” or “flexible” and “alternative” staffing arrangements, has proliferated, although exact figures are hard to come by because of difficulties in tracking such workers. Many people are apparently looking at multiple temporary jobs as the equivalent of a diversified investment portfolio.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/20/business/economy/20contractor.html?th&emc=th

Sure, there's flexibility, but that often includes long periods of time with no income. It involves constantly looking for the next job. And it does not include benefits. If a person is married to someone who has a good health insurance plan through his or her job, then ok, it might work, but for someone not in that situation...

I did the "temp" stint a couple of years ago, mainly because there wasn't anything else out there. After a few months, even that dried up and I ended up going on TANF for one month because I didn't know what else to do. As a single mother, I just don't enjoy that particular type of "flexibility", nor do I imagine most of us do, either.