Here are some reports on what’s happening in the world of temporary and full-time work:
Temporary work: Temporary workers are in demand and now is the time for government intervention or regulations “to ensure fair and equitable working conditions,” says Jackie Krasas Rogers, assistant professor of labor studies and industrial relations at Pennsylvania State University in University Park.
“The most obvious is the lack of benefits, but other issues exist which codify a workforce caste system for temporary workers, especially among women and people of color.”
Rogers, who has a doctorate in sociology, is author of “Temps: The Many Faces of the Changing Workplace” (Cornell University Press, $15.95).
Another way “to bring temps out of workplace limbo” she suggests, is “the unionization of temporary workers and prevention of the use of temporary workers in union busting.”
Unionizing of temporary workers was facilitated by a recent decision by the National Labor Relations Board, which held that “workers provided by a temporary employment agency and the employer’s regular employees can be placed in the same bargaining unit if both groups share a community of interests,” according to Client Briefing, a newsletter of the law firm of Winston & Strawn.
Full-time salaries: Something parents of college students (not the students themselves, however) want to know is whether liberal arts majors can earn a living.
Well, if starting salary is the gauge, parents can stop worrying, at least for this year:
The National Association of Colleges and Employers reports that liberal arts graduates are getting starting salaries that are 5.2 percent more annually than they did last year: In 1999, average starting salary was $27,664 annually. This year, it’s $29,105.
But that salary, though an excellent beginning, should not relieve parental anxiety: College graduates in the high-tech world as computer engineers are being offered starting salaries of $48,280.
And though that’s only a 4.5 percent increase from 1999 salaries, it’s still almost $20,000 more than what the liberal arts graduates are getting.
Temporary and full-time persistence: Sending your resume repeatedly and calling on a daily basis to find out whether your application has been received or to set up an interview “isn’t going to help your case,” according to Erick Smith, an Internet recruiter based in Crystal Lake. “Remember, we’re busy, too. We do as much as we can to call people back quickly but it doesn’t always happen.”
Smith believes that constant inquiries “make you look desperate and won’t help your chances.”
My advice: Everything in moderation.
Flexible staffing: Though job seekers know that total flexibility in work hours usually isn’t offered in temporary jobs, the major attraction of temporary work remains the possibility of flexibility.
The American Staffing Association, in Alexandria, Va., says “staffing firms continue to outperform the economy by luring workers seeking flexible assignments during a time of unprecedented job opportunities.”
The proof: In the second quarter of this year (April through June), on an average day there were 3 million temporary workers.
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Carol Kleiman’s column also appears in Tuesday’s Business section. Watch her Career Coach segments Sunday and Tuesday mornings on CLTV. Send e-mail to ckleiman@ tribune.com.
