Businesses have sharply increased their use of outsourcing and flexible staff over the last twenty years.

A study by the current Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that approximately 90% of firms now utilize some type of contingent work (Abraham, 1990). The increased use of flexible staff, such as day laborers and workers from temporary agencies, reflects a move to “just-in-time” production, which essentially means that employers are able to bring in extra staff quickly during periods of high production demand, and send that staff out just as quickly during periods of low demand. Employers are also able to pass along the increasing costs of providing benefits by turning to a temporary workforce. Responsibility for mandatory benefits such as Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance falls to the temporary agencies, and temporary workers are rarely offered pensions or health insurance.

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