Random Walk

It’s an ill wind that blows no good. New unemployment claims jumped to their highest level in a year in January. Yet one form of employment is burgeoning—temporary employment.

There are 1.6 million temps in the new workforce, almost three times as many as ten years ago. Since 1991, temps have accounted for one of every six new jobs. “It’s not a healthy trend,” says Jeff McGinnis, a policy analyst at the Labor Policy Association in Washington, “but as long as Congress keeps imposing restrictions on the labor market, it’s inevitable.”

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It’s an ill wind that blows no good. New unemployment claims jumped to their highest level in a year in January. Yet one form of employment is burgeoning—temporary employment.

There are 1.6 million temps in the new workforce, almost three times as many as ten years ago. Since 1991, temps have accounted for one of every six new jobs. “It’s not a healthy trend,” says Jeff McGinnis, a policy analyst at the Labor Policy Association in Washington, “but as long as Congress keeps imposing restrictions on the labor market, it’s inevitable.”