Gig-Economy

For many, the future of work will be temporary

New research confirms that a major area of growth in the future of work over the next several years will be temporary, or gig jobs.
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As the Labor Department releases the unemployment report for October, research out today confirms that a major area of growth in the future of work over the next several years will be temporary, or gig jobs. And what may be the most surprising finding — workers 35 and older make up the majority of this segment of the economy.

The study by TrueBlue and Emsi projects that gig employment will outpace the growth rate for all U.S. jobs, increasing to more than 3.2 million jobs by 2025.

The October survey of 4,000 temporary workers focused on Temporary Help Services workers who are employed by companies as well as those who are self-employed.

According to the data:

  • This is not a new phenomenon. Temporary employment has been growing steadily for the last several years as the U.S. recovered from the last recession. Nearly 480,000 jobs were added from 2012 to 2019, with companies seeking more flexibility in how they hire and workers seeking greater control over when and where they work.
  • Temporary work skews towards older age groups. While temporary employment is relatively balanced among age groups, the majority (57 percent) of people working temporary assignments, or gigs, are ages 35 and older; 18 percent are ages 55 and older. Here’s a further breakdown:
    • 24 and younger – 16 percent
    • 25 to 34 – 27 percent
    • 35 to 44 – 21 percent
    • 45 to 54 – 18 percent
    • 55 and older – 18 percent
  • The number one reason why people say they want to take on gig work is to earn extra income followed by the desire to get their foot in the door with a company.
  • Los Angeles, CA (adding 13,466 jobs), Dallas, TX (+13,435 jobs), Chicago, IL (+12,944 jobs), Grand Rapids, MI (+8,997 jobs) and New York, NY (+8,718 jobs) are the top five metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) projected to add the largest number of temporary jobs from 2019 to 2025.
  • In raw numbers, the fastest-growing temporary occupations from 2019 to 2025 will be led by supply chain roles from manufacturing and warehouse jobs to various positions in the transport industry. In percentage terms, skilled jobs such as registered nurses and software developers will be in high demand.
Occupation Temporary Employment

2019

Temporary Employment

2025

Temporary Employment

Growth  

2019 to 2025

Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand 544.450 598,077 53,627

10%

Helpers – Production Workers 96,191 120,900 24,709

26%

Packers and Packagers, Hand 124,098 136,565 12,467

10%

Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators 57,429 62,958 5,529

10%

Human Resources Specialists 54,746 60,156 5,410

10%

Stock Clerks and Order Fillers 47,951 52,613 4,662

10%

Office Clerks, General 118,404 123,016 4,612

4%

Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders 46,843 51,356 4,513

10%

Registered Nurses 45,155 49,637 4,482

10%

Construction Laborers 44,767 49,120 4,353

10%

Substitute Teachers 40,318 44,375 4,056

10%

Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners 40,813 44,807 3,994

10%

Customer Service Representatives 91,746 95,475 3,729

4%

Software Developers, Applications 20,902 24,150 3,248

16%

 

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Dana Beth Ardi

Executive Committee

Dana Beth Ardi, PhD, Executive Committee, is a thought leader and expert in the fields of executive search, talent management, organizational design, assessment, leadership and coaching. As an innovator in the human capital movement, Ardi creates enhanced value in companies by matching the most sought after talent with the best opportunities. Ardi coaches boards and investors on the art and science of building high caliber management teams. She provides them with the necessary skills to seek out and attract top-level management, to design the ideal organizational architectures and to deploy people against strategy. Ardi unearths the way a business works and the most effective way for people to work in them.

Ardi is an experienced business executive and senior consultant who leverages business organizational transformation through talent strategies. She uses her knowledge and experience to develop talent strategies to enhance revenue and profit contributions. She has a deep expertise in change management and organizational effectiveness and has designed and built high performance cultures. Ardi has significant experience in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, IPO’s and turnarounds.

Ardi is an expert on the multi-generational workforce. She understands the four intersecting generations of workers coming together in contemporary companies, each with their own mindsets, leadership and communications styles, values and motivations. Ardi is sought after to assist companies manage and thrive by bringing the generations together. Her book, Fall of the Alphas: How Beta Leaders Win Through Connection, Collaboration and Influence, will be published by St. Martin’s Press. The book reflects Ardi’s deep expertise in understanding organizations and our changing society. It focuses on building a winning culture, how companies must grow and evolve, and how talent influences and shapes communities of work. This is what she has coined “Corporate Anthropology.” It is a playbook on how modern companies must meet challenges – culturally, globally, digitally, across genders and generations.

Ardi is currently the Managing Director and Founder of Corporate Anthropology Advisors, LLC, a consulting company that provides human capital advisory and innovative solutions to companies building value through people. Corporate Anthropology works with organizations, their cultures, the way they grow and develop, and the people who are responsible for forming their communities of work.

Prior to her position at Corporate Anthropology Advisors, Ardi served as a Partner/Managing Director at the private equity firms CCMP Capital and JPMorgan Partners. She was a partner at Flatiron Partners, a venture capital firm working with early state companies where she pioneered the human capital role within an investment portfolio.

Ardi holds a BS from the State University of New York at Buffalo as well as a Masters degree and PhD from Boston College. She started her career as professor at the Graduate Center at Fordham University in New York.