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Technical information: (202) 691-6378

 http://www.bls.gov/cps/

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 05-1433

For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

CONTINGENT AND ALTERNATIVE EMPLOYMENT ARRANGEMENTS,

FEBRUARY 2005

The proportion of U.S. workers holding contingent jobs was little different in February 2005 than in

February 2001, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Contingent

workers are persons who do not expect their jobs to last or who reported that their jobs are temporary.

Using three alternative measures, contingent workers accounted for 1.8 to 4.1 percent of total employment in

February 2005. (See table A.) In February 2001, the last time the survey was conducted, they ranged from

1.7 to 4.0 percent. The first time the survey was conducted, in February 1995, the estimates ranged from

2.2 to 4.9 percent.

The analysis in this release focuses on the broadest estimate of contingent workers—all those who do not

expect their current job to last.

In addition to contingent workers, the survey also identified those workers who have alternative work

arrangements. In February 2005, there were 10.3 million independent contractors (7.4 percent of total

employment), 2.5 million on-call workers (1.8 percent of total employment), 1.2 million temporary help

agency workers (0.9 percent of total employment), and 813,000 workers provided by contract firms

(0.6 percent of total employment). (See table 8.) The proportion of the total employed who were independent contractors increased from 6.4 percent in February 2001. The proportions for the other three

alternative work arrangements showed little or no change from February 2001.

An employment arrangement may be defined as both contingent and alternative, but this is not

automatically the case because contingency is defined separately from the four alternative work arrangements.

In February 2005, the proportion of workers employed in alternative arrangements who also were classified

as contingent workers ranged from 3 percent of independent contractors to 61 percent of temporary help

agency workers. (See table 12.)

Data on contingent and alternative employment arrangements have been collected periodically in

supplements to the Current Population Survey (CPS) since February 1995. The CPS is a monthly

nationwide survey of about 60,000 households that obtains information on employment, unemployment,

earnings, demographics, and other characteristics of the civilian noninstitutionalized population age 16 and

over. A description of the concepts and definitions used in the supplement is included in the Technical Note

that follows this analysis. Some highlights from the February 2005 survey follow:
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Contingent workers are those who do not have an implicit or explicit contract for ongoing

employment. Persons who do not expect to continue in their jobs for personal reasons such as

retirement or returning to school are not considered contingent workers, provided that they would

have the option of continuing in the job were it not for these reasons.

Estimate 1

Wage and salary workers who expect their jobs will last for an additional year or less and who had

worked at their jobs for 1 year or less. Self-employed workers and independent contractors are

excluded from the estimates. For temporary help and contract workers, contingency is based on the

expected duration and tenure of their employment with the temporary help or contract firm, not with

the specific client to whom they were assigned.

Estimate 2

Workers including the self-employed and independent contractors who expect their employment to

last for an additional year or less and who had worked at their jobs (or been self-employed) for 1 year

or less. For temporary help and contract workers, contingency is determined on the basis of the

expected duration and tenure with the client to whom they have been assigned, instead of their tenure

with the temporary help or contract firm.

Estimate 3

Workers who do not expect their jobs to last. Wage and salary workers are included even if they

already have held the job for more than 1 year and expect to hold the job for at least an additional year.

The self-employed and independent contractors are included if they expect their employment to last

for an additional year or less and they had been self-employed or independent contractors for 1 year or

less.

Independent contractors

Workers who were identified as independent contractors, independent consultants, or freelance

workers, whether they were self-employed or wage and salary workers.

On-call workers

Workers who are called to work only as needed, although they can be scheduled to work for several

days or weeks in a row.

Temporary help agency workers

Workers who were paid by a temporary help agency, whether or not their job was temporary.

Workers provided by contract firms

Workers who are employed by a company that provides them or their services to others under

contract and who are usually assigned to only one customer and usually work at the customer’s

worksite.

 Percent of

 total

 employed

Table A. Contingent workers and workers in alternative arrangements as a percent of total

employment, February 2005

Definition and alternative estimates of contingent workers

Type of alternative arrangement

1.8

2.3

4.1

7.4

1.8

.6

.9
3

Under the broadest measure of contingency, there were 5.7 million contingent workers in February

2005, accounting for about 4 percent of total employment.

Contingent workers were twice as likely as noncontingent workers to be under age 25. Contingent

 workers were less likely to be white than noncontingent workers.

Young contingent workers (16- to 24-year olds) were more likely than their noncontingent counterparts

to be enrolled in school.

More than half of contingent workers (55 percent) would have preferred a permanent job.

The demographic characteristics of workers in alternative employment arrangements varied widely

between the four arrangements. For example, independent contractors were more likely than workers in

traditional arrangements to be older, male, and white. Temporary help agency workers were more likely

to be young, female, and black or Hispanic or Latino.

 The majority of independent contractors (82 percent) preferred their work arrangement to a traditional

job, while only 32 percent of temporary help agency workers preferred their current arrangement.

Demographic Characteristics of Contingent Workers

Using the broadest estimate of contingency, 5.7 million workers were classified as contingent in February

2005. Contingent workers were twice as likely as noncontingent workers to be under 25 years old (27

versus 13 percent). Of these young workers, nearly three-fifths of contingent workers were enrolled in

school, compared with about two-fifths of youth with noncontingent jobs. Contingent workers age 25 to 64

were found at both ends of the educational attainment spectrum. Compared with noncontingent workers,

contingent workers were more likely to have less than a high school diploma (16 percent compared with 9

percent) and more likely to hold at least a bachelor’s degree (37 percent compared with 33 percent). (See

tables 1, 2, and 3.)

A slightly larger proportion of contingent workers than noncontingent workers were women (49 versus

47 percent). Contingent workers were slightly less likely to be white (79 percent compared with 83 percent)

and much more likely to be Hispanic or Latino (21 percent compared with 13 percent) than their

noncontingent counterparts.

Part-time workers—individuals who usually work less than 35 hours a week—made up two-fifths of

contingent workers, compared with less than one-fifth of noncontingent workers. However, the vast majority

of part-time workers (91 percent) were not employed in contingent arrangements. (See tables 1 and 2.)

Occupation and Industry of Contingent Workers

As in previous surveys, contingent workers were distributed throughout the major occupational groups.

Compared with noncontingent workers, contingent workers were more likely to work in professional and

related occupations and construction and extraction occupations. With regard to industries, contingent

workers were more likely to hold jobs in the professional and business services, education and health

services, and construction industries. (See table 4.)

Job Preferences of Contingent Workers

The majority of contingent workers (55 percent) would have preferred a job that was permanent.

However, more than 1 in every 3 said they preferred their current arrangement. (The remainder expressed

no clear preference.) (See table 10.) By comparison, the proportion was 40 percent in February 2001.

•

•

•

•

•

•
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Compensation of Contingent Workers

Full-time contingent wage and salary workers had median weekly earnings of $488 in February 2005.

(See table 13.) (Beginning with the February 2001 survey, information on the earnings of noncontingent

workers is not available because it is no longer collected.)

Contingent workers continued to be much less likely to have employer-provided health insurance. Less

than one-fifth of contingent workers (18 percent) were covered by health insurance provided by their

employer, compared with slightly more than half of noncontingent workers (52 percent). Although four-fifths

of contingent workers did not receive health insurance from their employer, nearly three-fifths (59 percent)

did have health insurance from some source. (See table 9.)

Contingent workers also were much less likely to be eligible for employer-provided pension plans. Half

of noncontingent workers were eligible for such plans, while only about 1 in every 5 contingent workers was

eligible. Among those who were eligible, contingent workers also were much less likely to participate in such

plans. (See table 9.)

Independent Contractors

Independent contractors were the largest of the four alternative work arrangements. In February 2005,

there were about 10.3 million independent contractors, accounting for 7.4 percent of the employed. These

workers were more likely than workers in traditional arrangements to be age 35 and over (81 versus 64

percent), male (65 versus 52 percent), and white (89 versus 82 percent). Thirty-six percent of independent

contractors had at least a bachelor’s degree in February 2005, compared with 33 percent of workers with

traditional arrangements. (See tables 5, 6, and 7.)

Independent contractors were more likely than those with traditional arrangements to be in management,

business, and financial operations occupations; sales and related occupations; and construction and extraction

occupations. In terms of industry, independent contractors were more likely than traditional workers to be

employed in construction, financial activities, and professional and business services. Fewer than 1 in 10

independent contractors said they would prefer a traditional work arrangement. (See tables 8 and 11.)

On-call Workers

The second largest group of workers employed in alternative arrangements was on-call workers. Nearly

2.5 million workers (1.8 percent of total employed persons) were on-call workers in February 2005. The

characteristics of on-call workers were similar to workers with traditional arrangements, except that on-call

workers were more likely to be young and to have less than a high school diploma. Twenty percent of oncall workers were 16- to 24-year olds, compared with 14 percent of traditional workers. Among on-call

workers age 25 to 64, 14 percent did not have a high school diploma, compared with 9 percent of workers

in traditional arrangements. (See tables 5, 6, and 7.)

On-call workers were much more likely than traditional workers to hold jobs in professional, service, and

construction and extraction occupations. By industry, on-call workers were overrepresented, compared with

traditional workers, in construction and education and health services. About 44 percent of on-call workers

usually worked part time, a much higher proportion than either traditional workers or workers in other

alternative arrangements. On-call workers were about equally likely to prefer a traditional arrangement to

their alternative arrangement. (See tables 6, 8, and 11.)
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Temporary Help Agency Workers

In February 2005, there were about 1.2 million temporary help agency workers, accounting for 0.9

percent of all employment. These workers were more likely than traditional workers to be women and

young. Fifty-three percent of temporary help agency workers were women, compared with about 48

percent of traditional workers. Nearly half of temporary help agency workers were under the age of 35

compared with only 36 percent of workers in traditional arrangements. Temporary help agency employees

were much more likely than workers with traditional arrangements to be black (23 versus 11 percent) and

Hispanic or Latino (21 versus 13 percent). Seventeen percent of temporary help agency workers ages 25

to 64 years old had less than a high school diploma, compared with 9 percent of workers in traditional

arrangements. (See tables 5, 6, and 7.)

In terms of occupation, temporary help agency workers were more likely than traditional workers to hold

office and administrative support and production, transportation, and material moving jobs. Compared with

traditional workers, temporary help agency workers were more frequently employed in the manufacturing and

professional and business services industries. (See table 8.)

Among workers employed in alternative arrangements, those employed by temporary help agencies were

the least likely to prefer their current arrangement (32 percent). About 56 percent said they would prefer a

traditional arrangement. (See table 11.)

Workers Provided by Contract Companies

The smallest of the four alternative arrangements was contract company employment, with 813,000

workers or 0.6 percent of total employment. These are individuals who were identified as working for a

contract company and who usually worked at the customer’s worksite. Nearly 70 percent of contract

company workers were men, compared with 52 percent of traditional workers. Compared with traditional

workers, employees of contract companies were more likely to be black and Hispanic or Latino. Among

25- to 64-year olds, those employed by contract companies were more likely than traditional workers to

have less than a high school diploma (13 versus 9 percent); however, the group also had a higher proportion

of college graduates (37 versus 33 percent). (See tables 5, 6, and 7.)

Contract company employees were much more likely than workers with traditional arrangements to hold

jobs in professional, service, and construction and extraction occupations. Compared with traditional

workers, contract company workers were more frequently employed in the construction industry and public

administration. (See table 8.)

Compensation of Workers in Alternative Arrangements

Median usual weekly earnings varied widely among full-time wage and salary workers in the four

alternative employment arrangements. Contract company workers ($756) and independent contractors

($716) earned significantly more than on-call workers ($519) and temporary help agency workers ($414).

(See table 13.)

The differences in earnings between the four alternative work arrangements reflect in part the

demographic and occupational concentration of each arrangement. For example, independent contractors

tend to be older, highly educated individuals who work in relatively high-paying management, business, and

financial operations occupations. In contrast, temporary help agency workers tend to be younger, lesseducated persons who hold relatively low-paying office and administrative support jobs. (See tables 5, 6,

and 7.)
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Compared with workers in traditional arrangements, workers in alternative arrangements (except those

employed by contract companies) were much less likely to be covered by health insurance from any source

than workers in traditional arrangements. Workers in all alternative work arrangements were less likely than

workers in traditional arrangements to have health insurance provided by their employer. At 49 percent,

workers provided by contract firms were the most likely to have health insurance coverage from their

employer, while employees of temporary help agencies (8 percent) had the lowest rate of coverage. Fifty-six

percent of workers with traditional arrangements had employer-provided health insurance coverage. (See

table 9.)

Workers in alternative arrangements were also less likely than those in traditional arrangements to be

eligible for employer-provided pension plans. As with health insurance coverage, there was considerable

variation between the four groups. For example, contract company employees were the most likely to be

eligible at 43 percent, while only about 9 percent of workers in temporary help agencies were eligible. In

contrast, 53 percent of employees with traditional work arrangements were eligible for employer-provided

pension plans. (See table 9.)
Technical Note

Source of data

The data presented in this release were collected through a

supplement to the February 2005 Current Population Survey

(CPS), a monthly survey of about 60,000 households that

provides data on employment and unemployment for the nation.

The CPS is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau

of Labor Statistics (BLS). The purpose of this supplement was

to obtain information from workers on whether they held

contingent jobs, that is, jobs which are expected to last only a

limited period of time. In addition, information was collected on

several alternative employment arrangements, namely working

as independent contractors and on call, as well as working

through temporary help agencies or contract firms.

Several major changes introduced into the CPS in 2003 affect

the data that are presented in this release. These include the

introduction of Census 2000 population controls, the use of

new questions about race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, the

presentation of data for Asians, and the introduction of new

industry and occupational classification systems. For a detailed

discussion of these changes and their impact on CPS data, see

“Revisions to the Current Population Survey Effective in

January 2003” in the February 2003 issue of Employment and

Earnings and available at http://www.bls.gov/cps/rvcps03.pdf

on the BLS Web site.

All employed persons except unpaid family workers were

included in the supplement. For persons holding more than one

job, the questions referred to the characteristics of their main

job—the job in which they worked the most hours. Similar

surveys were conducted in February of 1995, 1997, 1999, and

2001.

Reliability of the estimates

Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and

nonsampling error. When a sample, rather than the entire

population, is surveyed, there is a chance that the sample

estimates may differ from the “true” population values they

represent. The exact difference, or sampling error, varies

depending on the particular sample selected, and this variability

is measured by the standard error of the estimate. There is

about a 90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that an

estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6

standard errors from the “true” population value because of

sampling error. BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 90-

percent level of confidence.

The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error.

Nonsampling error can occur for many reasons, including the

failure to sample a segment of the population, inability to obtain

information for all respondents in the sample, inability or

unwillingness of respondents to provide the correct

information, and errors made in the collection or processing of

data.

For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS

and information on estimating standard errors, see the

“Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error” section of

Employment and Earnings.

Concepts and definitions

Defining and estimating the contingent workforce.

Contingent workers are defined as those who do not have an

explicit or implicit contract for long-term employment. Several

pieces of information are collected in the supplement from which

the existence of a contingent employment arrangement can be

discerned. These include: whether the job is temporary or not

expected to continue, how long the worker expects to be able

to hold the job, and how long the worker has held the job. For

workers who have a job with an intermediary, namely a

temporary help agency or a contract company, information is

collected about their employment at the place they are assigned

to work by the intermediary as well as their employment with the

intermediary itself.

The key factor used to determine if a worker’s job fits the

conceptual definition of contingent is whether the job is

temporary or not expected to continue. The first questions of

the supplement are:

1. Some people are in temporary jobs that last only for a

limited time or until the completion of a project. Is your job

temporary?

2. Provided the economy does not change and your job

performance is adequate, can you continue to work for your

current employer as long as you wish?

Respondents who answer “yes” to the first question or “no”

to the second are then asked a series of questions to distinguish

persons who are in temporary jobs from those who, for personal

reasons, are temporarily holding jobs that offer the opportunity

of ongoing employment. For example, students holding parttime jobs in fast-food restaurants while in school might view

those jobs as temporary if they intend to leave them at the end

of the school year. The jobs themselves, however, would be

filled by other workers once the students leave.

A job is defined as being short term or temporary if the

person holding it is working only until the completion of a

specific project, temporarily replacing another worker, being

hired for a fixed time period, filling a seasonal job that is available

only during certain times of the year, or if other business

conditions dictated that the job is short term.

Workers also are asked how long they expect to stay in their

current job and how long they have been with their current

employer. The rationale for asking how long an individual

expects to remain in his or her current job is that being able to

hold a job for a year or more could be taken as evidence of at

least an implicit contract for ongoing employment. In other

words, the employer’s need for the worker’s services is not
likely to evaporate tomorrow. By the same token, the

information on how long a worker has been with the employer

shows whether a job has been ongoing. Having remained with

an employer for more than a year may be taken as evidence that,

at least in the past, there was an explicit or implicit contract for

continuing employment.

To assess the impact of altering some of the defining factors

on the estimated size of the contingent workforce, three

measures of contingent employment were developed, as

follows:

Under estimate 1, which is the narrowest, contingent

workers are wage and salary workers who indicate that they

expect to work in their current job for 1 year or less and who

have worked for their current employer for 1 year or less. Selfemployed workers, both incorporated and unincorporated, and

independent contractors are excluded from the count of

contingent workers under estimate 1; the rationale is that people

who work for themselves, by definition, have ongoing

employment arrangements, although they may face financial

risks. Individuals who work for temporary help agencies or

contract companies are considered contingent under estimate

1 only if they expect their employment arrangement with the

temporary help or contract company to last for 1 year or less and

they have worked for that company for 1 year or less.

Estimate 2 expands the measure of the contingent work force

by including the self-employed—both the incorporated and the

unincorporated—and independent contractors who expect to

be, and have been, in such employment arrangements for 1 year

or less. (The questions asked of the self-employed are different

from those asked of wage and salary workers.) In addition,

temporary help and contract company workers are classified as

contingent under estimate 2 if they have worked and expect to

work for the customers to whom they are assigned for 1 year or

less. For example, a “temp” secretary who is sent to a different

customer each week but has worked for the same temporary

help firm for more than 1 year and expects to be able to continue

with that firm indefinitely is contingent under estimate 2, but not

under estimate 1. In contrast, a “temp” who has been assigned

to a single client for more than a year and expects to be able to

stay with that client for more than a year is not counted as

contingent under either estimate.

Estimate 3 expands the count of contingency by removing

the 1-year requirement on both expected duration of the job and

current tenure for wage and salary workers. Thus, the estimate

effectively includes all the wage and salary workers who do not

expect their employment to last, except for those who, for

personal reasons, expect to leave jobs that they would otherwise

be able to keep. Thus, a worker who has held a job for 5 years

could be considered contingent if he or she now views the job

as temporary. These conditions on expected and current tenure

are not relaxed for the self-employed and independent

contractors because they are asked a different set of questions

than wage and salary workers.

Defining alternative employment arrangements. To

provide estimates of the number of workers in alternative

employment arrangements, the supplement includes questions

about whether individuals are paid by a temporary help agency

or contract company, or whether they are on-call workers or

independent contractors. Definitions of each category, as well

as the main questions used to identify workers in each category,

follow.

Independent contractors are all those who are identified as

independent contractors, consultants, and free-lance workers

in the supplement, regardless of whether they are identified as

wage and salary workers or self-employed in the responses to

basic CPS labor force status questions. Workers identified as

self-employed (incorporated and unincorporated) in the basic

CPS are asked, “Are you self-employed as an independent

contractor, independent consultant, or something else (such as

a shop or restaurant owner)?” in order to distinguish those who

consider themselves to be independent contractors,

consultants, or free-lance workers from those who are business

operators such as shop owners or restaurateurs. Those

identified as wage and salary workers in the basic CPS are asked,

“Last week, were you working as an independent contractor, an

independent consultant, or a free-lance worker? That is,

someone who obtains customers on their own to provide a

product or service.” Eighty-seven percent of independent

contractors were identified as self-employed in the main

questionnaire, while 13 percent were identified as wage and

salary workers. Conversely, nearly 3 in every 5 of the selfemployed were identified as independent contractors.

On-call workers are persons who are called into work only

when they are needed. This category includes workers who

answer affirmatively to the question, “Some people are in a pool

of workers who are ONLY called to work as needed, although

they can be scheduled to work for several days or weeks in a

row, for example, substitute teachers and construction workers

supplied by a union hiring hall. These people are sometimes

referred to as ON-CALL workers. Were you an ON-CALL

worker last week?” Persons with regularly scheduled work

which might include periods of being “on call” to perform work

at unusual hours, such as medical residents, are not included

in this category.

Temporary help agency workers are all those who are paid

by a temporary help agency. To the extent that permanent staff

of temporary help agencies indicate that they are paid by their

agencies, the estimate of the number of workers whose

employment is mediated by temporary help agencies is

overstated. This category includes workers who say their job

is temporary and answer affirmatively to the question, “Are you

paid by a temporary help agency?” Also included are workers
who say their job is not temporary and answer affirmatively to

the question, “Even though you told me your job is not

temporary, are you paid by a temporary help agency?”

Workers provided by contract firms are those individuals

identified as working for a contract company, and who usually

work for only one customer and usually work at the customer’s

worksite. The last two requirements are imposed to focus on

workers whose employment appears to be very closely tied to

the firm for which they are performing the work, rather than

include all workers employed by firms that provide services.

This category includes workers who answer affirmatively to the

question, “Some companies provide employees or their services

to others under contract. A few examples of services that can

be contracted out include security, landscaping, or computer

programming. Did you work for a company that contracts out

you or your services last week?” These workers also have to

respond negatively to the question, “Are you usually assigned

to more than one customer?” In addition, these workers have

to respond affirmatively to the question, “Do you usually work

at the customer’s worksite?”

Additional information

Persons interested in additional information about this

release or the February supplements should contact (202) 691-

6378 (e-mail: CPSInfo@bls.gov). Further information on the

concepts used in this release can be found in “Contingent and

alternative work arrangements, defined” in the October 1996

issue of the Monthly Labor Review available on the Internet at

http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1996/10/art1full.pdf.

Information in this release is made available to sensory

impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-

5200; TDD message referral phone: 1-800-877-8339.
Table 1. Employed contingent and noncontingent workers by selected characteristics, February 2005

(In thousands)

Characteristic Total employed

Contingent workers Noncontingent

workers Estimate 1 Estimate 2 Estimate 3

AGE AND SEX

 Total, 16 years and over ......................... 138,952 2,504 3,177 5,705 133,247

16 to 19 years ............................................. 5,510 308 338 476 5,035

20 to 24 years ............................................. 13,114 606 688 1,077 12,036

25 to 34 years ............................................. 30,103 693 874 1,447 28,656

35 to 44 years ............................................. 34,481 415 580 1,044 33,437

45 to 54 years ............................................. 32,947 263 387 875 32,072

55 to 64 years ............................................. 17,980 143 198 536 17,445

65 years and over ....................................... 4,817 76 111 250 4,567

 Men, 16 years and over .......................... 73,946 1,325 1,648 2,914 71,032

16 to 19 years ............................................. 2,579 145 157 229 2,351

20 to 24 years ............................................. 6,928 358 394 597 6,331

25 to 34 years ............................................. 16,624 395 512 829 15,794

35 to 44 years ............................................. 18,523 245 303 540 17,983

45 to 54 years ............................................. 17,193 95 140 368 16,825

55 to 64 years ............................................. 9,485 70 107 261 9,224

65 years and over ....................................... 2,615 17 35 92 2,523

 Women, 16 years and over .................... 65,006 1,180 1,529 2,790 62,216

16 to 19 years ............................................. 2,931 163 182 247 2,684

20 to 24 years ............................................. 6,186 249 294 481 5,705

25 to 34 years ............................................. 13,480 298 362 618 12,862

35 to 44 years ............................................. 15,958 171 277 504 15,454

45 to 54 years ............................................. 15,754 168 247 508 15,247

55 to 64 years ............................................. 8,495 73 91 275 8,220

65 years and over ....................................... 2,202 58 76 158 2,044

RACE AND HISPANIC OR

LATINO ETHNICITY

White .......................................................... 115,043 2,007 2,534 4,521 110,522

Black or African American .......................... 14,688 296 387 660 14,028

Asian ........................................................... 6,083 121 161 350 5,733

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ......................... 18,062 603 704 1,185 16,876

FULL- OR PART-TIME STATUS

Full-time workers ........................................ 113,798 1,367 1,812 3,410 110,387

Part-time workers ....................................... 25,154 1,137 1,364 2,294 22,860

 NOTE: Noncontingent workers are those who do not fall into

any estimate of "contingent" workers. Estimates for the above

race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not

sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. In

addition, persons whose ethnicity is Hispanic or Latino may be of

any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by

race. Detail for other characteristics may not sum to totals due to

rounding.
Table 2. Employed contingent and noncontingent workers by selected characteristics, 

February 2005

(Percent distribution)

Characteristic

Contingent workers Noncontingent

workers Estimate 1 Estimate 2 Estimate 3

AGE AND SEX

 Total, 16 years and over ......................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

16 to 19 years ............................................. 12.3 10.7 8.3 3.8

20 to 24 years ............................................. 24.2 21.7 18.9 9.0

25 to 34 years ............................................. 27.7 27.5 25.4 21.5

35 to 44 years ............................................. 16.6 18.2 18.3 25.1

45 to 54 years ............................................. 10.5 12.2 15.3 24.1

55 to 64 years ............................................. 5.7 6.2 9.4 13.1

65 years and over ....................................... 3.0 3.5 4.4 3.4

 Men, 16 years and over .......................... 52.9 51.9 51.1 53.3

16 to 19 years ............................................. 5.8 4.9 4.0 1.8

20 to 24 years ............................................. 14.3 12.4 10.5 4.8

25 to 34 years ............................................. 15.8 16.1 14.5 11.9

35 to 44 years ............................................. 9.8 9.5 9.5 13.5

45 to 54 years ............................................. 3.8 4.4 6.4 12.6

55 to 64 years ............................................. 2.8 3.4 4.6 6.9

65 years and over ....................................... .7 1.1 1.6 1.9

 Women, 16 years and over .................... 47.1 48.1 48.9 46.7

16 to 19 years ............................................. 6.5 5.7 4.3 2.0

20 to 24 years ............................................. 9.9 9.3 8.4 4.3

25 to 34 years ............................................. 11.9 11.4 10.8 9.7

35 to 44 years ............................................. 6.8 8.7 8.8 11.6

45 to 54 years ............................................. 6.7 7.8 8.9 11.4

55 to 64 years ............................................. 2.9 2.9 4.8 6.2

65 years and over ....................................... 2.3 2.4 2.8 1.5

RACE AND HISPANIC OR

LATINO ETHNICITY

White .......................................................... 80.1 79.8 79.2 82.9

Black or African American .......................... 11.8 12.2 11.6 10.5

Asian ........................................................... 4.8 5.1 6.1 4.3

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ......................... 24.1 22.2 20.8 12.7

FULL- OR PART-TIME STATUS

Full-time workers ........................................ 54.6 57.0 59.8 82.8

Part-time workers ....................................... 45.4 43.0 40.2 17.2

 NOTE: Noncontingent workers are those who do not

fall into any estimate of "contingent" workers. Estimates

for the above race groups (white, black or African

American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data

are not presented for all races. In addition, persons

whose ethnicity is Hispanic or Latino may be of any race

and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by

race. Detail for other characteristics may not sum to

totals due to rounding.
Table 3. Employed contingent and noncontingent workers by school enrollment and educational

attainment, February 2005

(Percent distribution)

Characteristic

Contingent workers Noncontingent

workers Estimate 1 Estimate 2 Estimate 3

SCHOOL ENROLLMENT

 Total, 16 to 24 years (thousands) ........... 915 1,027 1,553 17,071

 Percent ................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Enrolled ...................................................... 59.8 57.5 59.1 41.6

Not enrolled ................................................ 40.2 42.5 40.9 58.4

 Less than a high school diploma ............ 11.4 11.1 12.4 9.2

 High school graduates, no college 1 ....... 15.4 15.2 13.2 25.4

 Some college or associate degree ......... 7.3 10.8 10.3 15.0

 Bachelor’s degree and higher 2 .............. 6.1 5.4 5.1 8.7

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

 Total, 25 to 64 years (thousands) ........... 1,514 2,039 3,902 111,610

 Percent ................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Less than a high school diploma .............. 20.3 18.7 15.5 8.6

High school graduates, no college 1 ........... 25.6 25.2 24.5 29.7

Some college or associate degree ............. 24.0 22.7 23.3 28.5

Bachelor’s degree and higher 2 .................. 30.1 33.4 36.6 33.1

1 Includes persons with a high school diploma or

equivalent. 2 Includes persons with a bachelor’s, master’s,

professional, and doctoral degrees.

 NOTE: Noncontingent workers are those who do not

fall into any estimate of "contingent" workers. Detail may

not sum to totals due to rounding.
Table 4. Employed contingent and noncontingent workers by occupation and industry, 

February 2005

(Percent distribution)

Characteristic

Contingent workers Noncontingent

workers Estimate 1 Estimate 2 Estimate 3

OCCUPATION

 Total, 16 years and over (thousands) ............................................. 2,504 3,177 5,705 133,247

 Percent ........................................................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

 Management, professional, and related occupations ........................ 28.4 30.7 35.9 35.2

 Management, business, and financial operations occupations ....... 5.5 8.0 8.7 14.6

 Professional and related occupations .............................................. 22.8 22.6 27.2 20.6

 Service occupations .......................................................................... 17.3 17.6 15.7 15.6

 Sales and office occupations ............................................................. 24.3 22.5 20.6 26.0

 Sales and related occupations ........................................................ 4.9 6.0 5.7 12.1

 Office and administrative support occupations ................................ 19.4 16.5 14.8 13.9

 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations ....... 16.5 16.7 16.1 10.2

 Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations ...................................... 2.4 2.0 2.1 .5

 Construction and extraction occupations ......................................... 11.4 12.3 11.1 5.8

 Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations .......................... 2.7 2.4 2.9 3.8

 Production, transportation, and material moving occupations ........... 13.6 12.5 11.7 13.1

 Production occupations ................................................................... 4.5 4.0 5.2 6.8

 Transportation and material moving occupations ............................ 9.1 8.5 6.5 6.2

INDUSTRY

 Total, 16 years and over (thousands) ............................................. 2,504 3,177 5,705 133,247

 Percent ........................................................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Agriculture and related industries ....................................................... 2.5 2.3 1.7 1.3

Mining ................................................................................................. .7 .6 .4 .4

Construction ....................................................................................... 13.0 14.0 12.3 7.2

Manufacturing ..................................................................................... 6.7 6.0 6.4 11.9

Wholesale trade .................................................................................. 3.2 2.9 2.2 3.2

Retail trade ......................................................................................... 6.4 6.7 6.4 12.4

Transportation and utilities ................................................................. 5.0 4.7 3.7 5.3

Information ......................................................................................... 1.6 1.3 2.1 2.3

Financial activities .............................................................................. 1.4 2.6 3.1 7.7

Professional and business services ................................................... 18.2 20.7 18.2 9.7

Education and health services ............................................................ 23.5 21.8 27.1 20.8

Leisure and hospitality ........................................................................ 10.1 8.9 7.4 8.1

Other services .................................................................................... 5.0 5.3 4.9 4.7

Public administration .......................................................................... 2.8 2.3 4.0 4.9

 NOTE: Noncontingent workers are those who do not fall into

any estimate of "contingent" workers. Detail may not sum to

totals due to rounding.
Table 5. Employed workers with alternative and traditional work arrangements by selected characteristics,

February 2005

(In thousands)

Characteristic Total

employed

Workers with alternative arrangements

Workers with

traditional

arrangements Independent

contractors

On-call

workers

Temporary

help agency

workers

Workers

provided by

contract firms

AGE AND SEX

 Total, 16 years and over ............... 138,952 10,342 2,454 1,217 813 123,843

16 to 19 years ................................... 5,510 89 133 33 7 5,194

20 to 24 years ................................... 13,114 356 355 202 87 12,055

25 to 34 years ................................... 30,103 1,520 535 362 205 27,427

35 to 44 years ................................... 34,481 2,754 571 253 196 30,646

45 to 54 years ................................... 32,947 2,799 417 200 186 29,324

55 to 64 years ................................... 17,980 1,943 267 135 114 15,496

65 years and over ............................. 4,817 881 175 33 18 3,701

 Men, 16 years and over ................ 73,946 6,696 1,241 574 561 64,673

16 to 19 years ................................... 2,579 32 82 24 7 2,389

20 to 24 years ................................... 6,928 194 200 107 61 6,331

25 to 34 years ................................... 16,624 1,006 299 185 138 14,950

35 to 44 years ................................... 18,523 1,824 252 120 140 16,130

45 to 54 years ................................... 17,193 1,764 209 71 143 15,003

55 to 64 years ................................... 9,485 1,287 108 52 70 7,954

65 years and over ............................. 2,615 589 91 16 3 1,917

 Women, 16 years and over .......... 65,006 3,647 1,212 643 252 59,170

16 to 19 years ................................... 2,931 57 52 9 – 2,805

20 to 24 years ................................... 6,186 162 155 95 27 5,724

25 to 34 years ................................... 13,480 514 236 177 67 12,477

35 to 44 years ................................... 15,958 930 319 133 57 14,516

45 to 54 years ................................... 15,754 1,035 208 129 43 14,322

55 to 64 years ................................... 8,495 656 158 83 44 7,542

65 years and over ............................. 2,202 292 84 17 15 1,785

RACE AND HISPANIC OR

LATINO ETHNICITY

White ................................................ 115,043 9,169 2,097 840 637 102,052

Black or African American ................ 14,688 583 212 276 121 13,471

Asian ................................................. 6,083 370 64 63 43 5,538

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ............... 18,062 951 385 255 133 16,202

FULL- OR PART-TIME STATUS

Full-time workers .............................. 113,798 7,732 1,370 979 695 102,889

Part-time workers ............................. 25,154 2,611 1,084 238 119 20,954

 NOTE: Workers with traditional arrangements are those who

do not fall into any of the "alternative arrangements" categories. 

Detail may not add to totals because the total employed includes

day laborers (an alternative arrangement, not shown separately)

and a small number of workers who were both "on call" and

"provided by contract firms." Estimates for the above race

groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum

to totals because data are not presented for all races. In

addition, persons whose ethnicity is Hispanic or Latino may be of

any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by

race. Detail for other characteristics may not sum to totals due to

rounding. Dash represents zero.
Table 6. Employed workers with alternative and traditional work arrangements by selected characteristics,

February 2005

(Percent distribution)

Characteristic

Workers with alternative arrangements

Workers with

traditional

arrangements Independent

contractors On-call workers Temporary helpagency workers

Workers

provided by

contract firms

AGE AND SEX

 Total, 16 years and over ......................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

16 to 19 years ............................................. .9 5.4 2.7 .9 4.2

20 to 24 years ............................................. 3.4 14.5 16.6 10.7 9.7

25 to 34 years ............................................. 14.7 21.8 29.8 25.2 22.1

35 to 44 years ............................................. 26.6 23.3 20.8 24.1 24.7

45 to 54 years ............................................. 27.1 17.0 16.4 22.8 23.7

55 to 64 years ............................................. 18.8 10.9 11.1 14.0 12.5

65 years and over ....................................... 8.5 7.1 2.7 2.3 3.0

 Men, 16 years and over .......................... 64.7 50.6 47.2 69.0 52.2

16 to 19 years ............................................. .3 3.3 1.9 .9 1.9

20 to 24 years ............................................. 1.9 8.1 8.8 7.5 5.1

25 to 34 years ............................................. 9.7 12.2 15.2 17.0 12.1

35 to 44 years ............................................. 17.6 10.3 9.8 17.2 13.0

45 to 54 years ............................................. 17.1 8.5 5.8 17.6 12.1

55 to 64 years ............................................. 12.4 4.4 4.3 8.6 6.4

65 years and over ....................................... 5.7 3.7 1.3 .4 1.5

 Women, 16 years and over .................... 35.3 49.4 52.8 31.0 47.8

16 to 19 years ............................................. .5 2.1 .7 – 2.3

20 to 24 years ............................................. 1.6 6.3 7.8 3.3 4.6

25 to 34 years ............................................. 5.0 9.6 14.6 8.2 10.1

35 to 44 years ............................................. 9.0 13.0 10.9 7.0 11.7

45 to 54 years ............................................. 10.0 8.5 10.6 5.3 11.6

55 to 64 years ............................................. 6.3 6.5 6.8 5.4 6.1

65 years and over ....................................... 2.8 3.4 1.4 1.9 1.4

RACE AND HISPANIC OR

LATINO ETHNICITY

White .......................................................... 88.6 85.5 69.0 78.3 82.4

Black or African American .......................... 5.6 8.6 22.7 14.9 10.9

Asian ........................................................... 3.6 2.6 5.2 5.3 4.5

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ......................... 9.2 15.7 21.0 16.4 13.1

FULL- OR PART-TIME STATUS

Full-time workers ........................................ 74.8 55.8 80.4 85.4 83.1

Part-time workers ....................................... 25.2 44.2 19.6 14.6 16.9

 NOTE: Workers with traditional arrangements are those who

do not fall into any of the "alternative arrangements" categories. 

Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African

American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not

presented for all races. In addition, persons whose ethnicity is

Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are

classified by ethnicity as well as by race. Detail for other

characteristics may not sum to totals due to rounding. Dash

represents zero.
Table 7. Employed workers with alternative and traditional work arrangements by school enrollment and

educational attainment, February 2005

(Percent distribution)

Characteristic

Workers with alternative arrangements

Workers with

traditional

arrangements Independent

contractors On-call workers Temporary helpagency workers

Workers

provided by

contract firms

SCHOOL ENROLLMENT

 Total, 16 to 24 years (thousands) ........... 445 488 235 95 17,249

 Percent ................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Enrolled ...................................................... 26.6 41.4 4.7 13.0 44.1

Not enrolled ................................................ 73.4 58.6 95.3 87.0 55.9

 Less than a high school diploma ............ 10.5 14.9 21.6 38.8 8.9

 High school graduates, no college 1 ....... 30.9 26.4 30.9 30.4 24.2

 Some college or associate degree ......... 22.3 13.1 25.1 12.5 14.4

 Bachelor’s degree and higher 2 .............. 9.7 4.4 17.6 5.2 8.5

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

 Total, 25 to 64 years (thousands) ........... 9,016 1,790 950 700 102,893

 Percent ................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Less than a high school diploma .............. 7.7 13.7 16.9 13.0 8.7

High school graduates, no college 1 ........... 27.6 27.8 29.5 19.9 29.8

Some college or associate degree ............. 29.1 28.8 32.4 30.5 28.3

Bachelor’s degree and higher 2 .................. 35.6 29.7 21.2 36.6 33.2

1 Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent. 2 Includes persons with a bachelor’s, master’s, professional,

and doctoral degrees.

 NOTE: Workers with traditional arrangements are those who

do not fall into any of the "alternative arrangements" categories. 

Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding.
Table 8. Employed workers with alternative and traditional work arrangements by occupation and industry, February 2005

(Percent distribution)

Characteristic

Workers with alternative arrangements

Workers with

traditional

arrangements Independent

contractors

On-call

workers

Temporary

help agency

workers

Workers

provided by

contract firms

OCCUPATION

 Total, 16 years and over (thousands) ............................................. 10,342 2,454 1,217 813 123,843

 Percent ........................................................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

 Management, professional, and related occupations ........................ 39.9 35.6 20.3 39.6 35.0

 Management, business, and financial operations occupations ....... 21.5 5.7 7.6 10.2 14.1

 Professional and related occupations .............................................. 18.4 30.0 12.7 29.4 20.9

 Service occupations .......................................................................... 13.7 22.1 15.6 26.2 15.5

 Sales and office occupations ............................................................. 20.5 12.6 26.9 7.2 26.6

 Sales and related occupations ........................................................ 17.1 4.4 2.1 2.5 11.7

 Office and administrative support occupations ................................ 3.4 8.2 24.8 4.7 14.9

 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations ....... 19.7 16.9 7.1 21.8 9.4

 Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations ...................................... .7 .5 .9 .2 .5

 Construction and extraction occupations ......................................... 15.3 12.5 3.5 19.8 5.0

 Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations .......................... 3.7 3.9 2.6 1.7 3.8

 Production, transportation, and material moving occupations ........... 6.1 12.7 30.1 5.2 13.5

 Production occupations ................................................................... 2.2 2.7 17.1 2.1 7.1

 Transportation and material moving occupations ............................ 3.9 10.0 13.1 3.1 6.3

INDUSTRY

 Total, 16 years and over (thousands) ............................................. 10,342 2,454 1,217 813 123,843

 Percent ........................................................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Agriculture and related industries ....................................................... 2.6 .6 – .2 1.2

Mining ................................................................................................. .1 1.0 .5 .2 .4

Construction ....................................................................................... 22.0 12.2 3.4 16.5 6.0

Manufacturing ..................................................................................... 3.2 4.8 28.4 14.1 12.6

Wholesale trade .................................................................................. 2.1 2.1 5.4 3.4 3.3

Retail trade ......................................................................................... 8.9 5.6 2.1 3.1 12.8

Transportation and utilities ................................................................. 3.9 8.4 3.1 4.0 5.3

Information ......................................................................................... 2.0 1.8 1.8 4.0 2.4

Financial activities .............................................................................. 10.4 3.4 4.1 6.8 7.5

Professional and business services ................................................... 21.3 7.7 31.9 10.4 8.6

Education and health services ............................................................ 8.7 33.8 11.1 15.7 22.0

Leisure and hospitality ........................................................................ 4.5 10.4 1.8 4.5 8.4

Other services .................................................................................... 9.9 3.8 2.9 .3 4.4

Public administration .......................................................................... .3 4.4 2.8 16.6 5.3

 NOTE: Workers with traditional arrangements are those who do not

fall into any of the "alternative arrangements" categories. Detail may not

sum to totals due to rounding. For temporary help agency workers and

workers provided by contract firms, the industry classification is that of

the place to which they were assigned. Dash represents zero.
Table 9. Employed contingent and noncontingent workers and those with alternative and traditional work

arrangements by health insurance coverage and eligibility for employer-provided pension plans, February 2005

Characteristic Total employed

(thousands)

Percent with health insurance

coverage

Percent eligible for

employer-provided pension plan 2

Total Provided by

employer 1 Total

Included in

employer-provided pension plan

Contingent workers:

 Estimate 1 ................................................. 2,504 51.8 9.4 9.2 4.6

 Estimate 2 ................................................. 3,177 52.5 7.9 8.3 4.1

 Estimate 3 ................................................. 5,705 59.1 18.1 18.6 12.4

Noncontingent workers ............................... 133,247 79.4 52.1 49.6 44.7

With alternative arrangements:

 Independent contractors ........................... 10,342 69.3 3 ( ) 2.6 1.9

 On-call workers ......................................... 2,454 66.9 25.7 33.2 27.8

 Temporary help agency workers .............. 1,217 39.7 8.3 8.9 3.8

 Workers provided by contract firms .......... 813 80.2 48.9 42.6 33.5

With traditional arrangements ..................... 123,843 80.0 56.0 52.9 47.7

1 Excludes the self-employed (incorporated and unincorporated) and independent contractors. 2 Excludes the self-employed (incorporated and unincorporated); includes independent contractors who were

self-employed.

3 Not applicable.

 NOTE: Noncontingent workers are those who do not fall into

any estimate of "contingent" workers. Workers with traditional

arrangements are those who do not fall into any of the "alternative

arrangements" categories.

Table 10. Employed contingent workers by their preference for contingent or noncontingent work arrangements,

February 2005

(Percent distribution)

Preference

Contingent workers

Estimate 1 Estimate 2 Estimate 3

 Total, 16 years and over (thousands) ..... 2,504 3,177 5,705

 Percent ................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0

Prefer noncontingent employment .............. 62.7 57.3 55.3

Prefer contingent employment .................... 31.3 35.1 35.5

It depends ................................................... 3.9 4.9 5.7

Not available ............................................... 2.2 2.6 3.5

 NOTE: Noncontingent workers are those who do not fall into

any estimate of "contingent" workers. Detail may not sum to totals

due to rounding.
Table 11. Employed workers with alternative work arrangements by their preference for a traditional work

arrangement, February 2005

(Percent distribution)

Preference Independent contractors On-call workers Temporary help agency

workers

 Total, 16 years and over (thousands) ..... 10,342 2,454 1,217

 Percent ................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0

Prefer traditional arrangement .................... 9.1 44.6 56.2

Prefer indirect or alternative arrangement .. 82.3 46.1 32.1

It depends ................................................... 5.2 6.8 6.5

Not available ............................................... 3.4 2.5 5.2

 NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Table 12. Employed workers with alternative and traditional work arrangements by contingent and noncontingent

employment, February 2005

Arrangement Total

(thousands)

Percent distribution

Contingent workers Noncontingent

workers Estimate 1 Estimate 2 Estimate 3

With alternative arrangements:

 Independent contractors ........................... 10,342 1 ( ) 3.4 3.4 96.6

 On-call workers ......................................... 2,454 10.4 10.6 24.6 75.4

 Temporary help agency workers .............. 1,217 30.4 37.8 60.7 39.3

 Workers provided by contract firms .......... 813 6.8 9.8 19.5 80.5

With traditional arrangements ..................... 123,843 1.2 1.4 2.9 97.1

1 Not applicable. Excludes independent contractors and the

self-employed (incorporated and unincorporated).

 NOTE: Noncontingent workers are those who do not fall into

any estimate of "contingent" workers. Workers with traditional

arrangements are those who do not fall into any of the "alternative

arrangements" categories.
Table 13. Median usual weekly earnings of full- and part-time contingent wage and salary workers and those

with alternative work arrangements by sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, February 2005

Characteristic

Contingent workers Workers with alternative arrangements

Estimate 1 Estimate 2 Estimate 3 Independent

contractors

On-call

workers

Temporary

help

agency

workers

Workers

provided

by contract

firms

FULL-TIME WORKERS

 Total, 16 years and over ..................... $405 $411 $488 $716 $519 $414 $756

Men ......................................................... 427 440 505 794 586 405 860

Women ................................................... 376 383 423 462 394 424 595

White ...................................................... 413 421 498 731 561 418 772

Black or African American ...................... 344 375 387 474 303 375 1 ( )

Asian ....................................................... 1 ( ) 1 ( ) 619 889 1 ( ) 1 ( ) 1 ( )

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ..................... 335 331 370 603 417 311 513

PART-TIME WORKERS

 Total, 16 years and over ..................... 152 152 161 253 173 224 204

Men ......................................................... 165 169 183 330 206 253 1 ( )

Women ................................................... 142 138 149 216 159 202 1 ( )

White ...................................................... 154 154 163 252 177 247 1 ( )

Black or African American ...................... 133 133 145 196 1 ( ) 1 ( ) 1 ( )

Asian ....................................................... 1 ( ) 1 ( ) 190 1 ( ) 1 ( ) 1 () –

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ..................... 152 153 175 207 249 1 ( ) 1 ( )

1 Data not shown where base is less than 100,000.

 NOTE: Earnings data for contingent workers exclude the

incorporated self-employed and independent contractors. Data

for independent contractors include the incorporated and

unincorporated self-employed; these groups, however, are

excluded from the data for workers with other arrangements. 

Full- or part-time status is determined by hours usually worked at

sole or primary job. Dash represents zero.