Contrary to the Hype: The Real Trends in Nontraditional Work

Business executives may be under the impression that the share of nontraditional workers in the US labor force (independent contractors, temporary help workers, or those hired by outsourcing firms) is growing fast. However, this study finds that the hype about the growth of this segment of the workforce is out of line with hard data. The share of nontraditional workers may be no different than it was twenty years ago. However, the emergence of online labor platforms—though they currently represent a tiny share of total hours worked in the US economy—may present new opportunities for businesses to meet labor demands.

Radical Growth in the Nontraditional Workforce: Fact or Fiction?

Business executives may be under the impression that the share of nontraditional workers in the US labor force (independent contractors, temporary help workers, or those hired by outsourcing firms) is growing fast—and fear they are not keeping up with the trend of hiring more of these workers. These concerns did not appear out of the blue: studies in recent years promoted the impression of a growing nontraditional workforce, as did the emergence of online labor platforms such as Upwork, TaskRabbit, and Amazon Mechanical Turk.