Report Detects Trend to More Unstable Jobs

As California’s economy responds to foreign pressure, more workers are part time, temporary or work at home and are therefore holding less stable jobs, according to a state Senate report.

The report done by the Senate Office of Research estimates the so-call contingent or “just-in-time” work force comprises 25% of all California workers.

These workers earn an average of $4.17 an hour, compared to $7.05 an hour for permanent full-time workers and they are less likely to receive benefits such as health and unemployment insurance, the report said.

Contingent workers also are more likely to lose their jobs in a recession, cutting purchasing power even more than would otherwise be the case and putting pressure on government services.

“Firms face unpredictable intrusions,” the report said, “of extremely well-financed foreign (often government backed) competitors into product markets, rapid technological change creating smaller niches in time and markets for more specialized and distinctive products, massive fluctuations in foreign currency values and instabilities in the national and international financial systems created by huge debt burdens (often exacerbated by questionable mergers and acquisitions).”

Companies are reacting by converting to a “just-in-time” labor force of workers who can be hired quickly and dismissed just as quickly, thereby cutting costs and increasing flexibility, the report said.