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Do recent declines in worker confidence indicate structural changes in employment?

Posted on February 28th, 2014 Read time: 1 minutes

Confidence among workers in office and administrative positions has declined, according to the Randstad Office & Administrative Confidence Index. The index fell from 55.9 in the third quarter of 2013 to 47.6 in the fourth quarter. More workers are becoming likely to look for new jobs, and at the same time, workers are becoming less confident at their ability to find new jobs.

In 2012, American Staffing issued a white paper asking whether the job difficulties that many in administrative and office positions are facing have to do with structural issues. American Staffing believes that temporary work is becoming much more common than before. Temporary employment has risen dramatically since the Great Recession. In fact, 29 percent of nonfarm net employment gains since the end of the Great Recession have been temporary jobs. Additionally, through 2011, staffing firms added more than 930,000 jobs, according to American Staffing.

Hiring temporary workers has the potential to benefit companies dramatically. Temporary workers are less expensive than traditional employees, and they are easier to hire and fire when necessary. Companies can grow and expand with their bottom line through outsourcing their employees. Many companies have also begun to outsource human resources through payrolling services.

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