Contingent jobs and alternative work arrangements: What you need to know

Friday, December 20, 2024

As workplaces continue to change and the relationships between employers and employees evolve, there is increased interest in measures of “nontraditional” work. While BLS routinely provides information on many characteristics of employment (industry, occupation, hours, worker’s demographics, and compensation), there are opportunities to provide additional detail through supplements to some BLS surveys. One area of interest is about people who may face challenges because their jobs are temporary. We developed a measure of people who work in contingent jobs—jobs that workers don’t expect to last or that are temporary—that can shed light on the prevalence and characteristics of this work. In addition to the contingent nature of an individual’s work, people also may be interested in workers in alternative employment arrangements, such as independent contractors, on-call workers, temporary help agency workers, or workers provided by a contract firm. At BLS, our mission is to provide data about these types of workers to better inform researchers and policymakers alike.

BLS has collected data about contingent work and people in alternative employment arrangements for decades through the Contingent Work Supplement (CWS) to the Current Population Survey (CPS). The supplement is a set of additional questions that we add to the national household survey that measures employment and unemployment. The first major study on contingent work was conducted in February 1995 and was repeated periodically through May 2017. In July 2023, the CWS expanded the amount of information collected, but with slight modifications to the questions for measuring contingent workers and those in alternative work arrangements.

Now, let’s dig into the latest CWS data. So, how do the July 2023 findings about contingent jobs compare to prior supplements? The 4.3 percent of workers in contingent jobs in July 2023 was higher than the 3.8 percent of workers in May 2017. However, the 2023 contingent rate is fairly similar to estimates from 2005 and earlier.

Editor's note: Data for this chart are available in the table below.

What do we know about workers in contingent jobs? Young workers, particularly those ages 16 to 24, are disproportionately represented in contingent jobs. In fact, this age group was four times more likely to have a contingent job than older workers. White (4.1 percent) and Black or African American (3.9 percent) workers were less likely to be contingent than Asian (5.9 percent) and Hispanic or Latino (6.0 percent) workers. Workers with less than a high school diploma were more likely to hold contingent jobs than workers with higher levels of education.

In addition to workers in contingent jobs, the survey also looked at workers in four specific alternative work arrangements: independent contractors (7.4 percent of the total employed), on-call workers (1.7 percent), temporary help agency workers (0.6 percent), and workers hired through contract firms (0.5 percent).

Editor's note: Data for this chart are available in the table below.

Although contingent status and alternative employment arrangements are measured separately, they can overlap. A person's job can be both contingent and an alternative arrangement. For example, a person might be an independent contractor and contingent on the same job. The goal here is to shine a light on different aspects of work to better understand the circumstances people face in the labor market.

Because we strive to be responsive to our data user community, the 2023 CWS added questions about the second jobs of multiple jobholders—those with more than one job. Previously, we only asked about work on the main job of multiple jobholders. So, what do we know about workers with contingent second jobs? Let’s start the discussion by mentioning that about 5 percent of the employed are multiple jobholders. In July 2023, 12.8 percent of these multiple jobholders had a second job that was contingent. Similar to the pattern of contingent rates on the main job, younger people with more than one job were more likely to have contingent second jobs than older workers.

As the labor market continues to evolve, it's critical that we adapt our surveys to portray the changing nature of work. Recognizing the growing interest in identifying workers using apps and websites to find work, BLS determined that the CWS was an ideal vehicle for exploring this emerging job trend. The 2017 CWS introduced questions to capture electronically mediated employment, generally defined as short jobs or tasks that workers find through mobile apps that both connect them with customers and arrange payment for the tasks. However, these initial questions did not work as intended, necessitating revisions. BLS updated its approach to measuring this kind of work after considering recommendations from data users and a panel of experts convened by the Committee on National Statistics. The 2023 CWS introduced an expanded set of questions on digital platform employment that replaced the questions from 2017. These questions were repeated for the second job of multiple jobholders.

BLS has recently released data about contingent and alternative work arrangements and we plan to release additional data on digital platform employment soon. This will provide information on the number and characteristics of workers who arrange for and were paid for work through an app. Stay tuned for updates on the release of these data!

While BLS has only had periodic snapshots of these types of work arrangements over the years, we are looking forward to making the CWS a regular and recurring supplement, with the next one scheduled for May 2025. We will continue to listen to your feedback and ensure that our data meet the needs of our customers.  

Have a question about these data? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions section for answers!

 

Percent of employed people in contingent jobs, February 1995–July 2023

Time period	Percent of total employed
Feb 1995	4.9
Feb 1997	4.4
Feb 1999	4.3
Feb 2001	4.0
Feb 2005	4.1
May 2017	3.8
Jul 2023	4.3

 

Percent of employed people in alternative work arrangements, February 1995–July 2023

Alternative work arrangements	Feb 1995	Feb 1997	Feb 1999	Feb 2001	Feb 2005	May 2017	Jul 2023
Independent contractors	6.7	6.7	6.3	6.4	7.4	6.9	7.4
On-call workers	1.7	1.6	1.5	1.6	1.8	1.7	1.7
Temporary help agency workers	1.0	1.0	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.6
Workers provided by contract firms	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.5