PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The contingent employment industry is traditionally a leading indicator of post-recession economic conditions and a reliable predictor of future employment trends. Cautious employers hire temps first, hedging their bets on the recovery, recognizing it is easier to scale back if demand doesn’t materialize. This cycle is no different, say the contract staffing experts at MRINetwork, except this time employers plan to maintain a larger portion of their workforce as contract employees even once business recovers.
“During the recession, employers learned to refocus on their core business, realizing that a smaller core workforce that was well trained and technologically astute was more effective and nimble than their pre-recession staff,” says Tim Ozier, director of contract staffing at MRINetwork. “As firms emerge from the recession they are, of course, beginning to hire full time workers but they are also seeing a larger role for highly skilled contract workers who are engaged on an as-needed basis.”
Ozier says that both companies and workers benefit from the contract staffing model.
“Companies increase efficiency and productivity and workers enjoy the benefits of a workplace characterized by project-based assignments, flexible hours, career mobility, and often higher rates of pay,” he says. “But this nomadic work force signals a new reality that will forever change the way people view their work, their careers, and their relationship with their employer.”
Few people realize how large the contract staffing industry has grown. “The entire staffing industry in 2011 is projected at $113 billion,” says Ozier. “Contract staffing is responsible for $88 billion of that total. Although only 1.5 percent of all employees in the U.S. are contract or contingent workers, that number is trending upward.”
The U.S. economy is still facing serious challenges, and the value of supplementing an existing workforce with skilled contingent workers cannot be ignored, says Ozier.
“The economics work,” says Ozier. “With a workforce that can quickly expand and contract, companies can compete more effectively.”
About MRINetwork®:
Management Recruiters
International, Inc., branded as MRINetwork®, is one of the
largest executive search and recruitment organizations in the world. A
subsidiary of CDI Corp. (NYSE:CDI), a global provider of engineering &
information technology outsourcing solutions and professional staffing,
the MRINetwork has approximately 850 offices in more than 35
countries. Visit MRINetwork at www.mrinetwork.com.