The unemployment numbers for February came out today and many were happy to see we added 227,000 jobs last month and the jobless rate didn’t go up, staying at 8.3 percent.

Well, realistically the economy only created 182,000 real jobs. Why do I say “real”? Because 45,000 of those 227,000 jobs came from temp jobs.

There may be some people out there would don’t mind holding temporary positions, but most folks are looking for permanent gigs.

Many of you have long been searching for a permanent gig with good pay, benefits and a little job security but companies are loathed to offer that.

“It’s cheaper to hire contingent workers, but also more flexible for employers,” Bill Kahnweiler, associate professor and human resource expert at Georgia State University’s Department of Public Management and Policy, told me a while back about the growing practice.

It may be easier for employers, but not on the average working stiffs who want to be permanent working stiffs. Also, some employers may be thwarting the law by keeping on temps and freelancers that are actually full-time employees under the law. (more…)

If an employee walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, is he or she screwed if an employer doesn’t treat them like a duck?

In the world of employee misclassification, the answer is yes.

Lots of you are working your tails off for employers and if you’re doing it as an independent contractor or temp but are really acting like a full time employee you could be eligible for benefits, overtime and even unemployment if the company decides they don’t need your services any more. Not to mention lost taxes that employers would be paying if you were called an employee.

While many of you may think this is a small workplace problem, think again. As many as 30 percent of employers misclassify workers; and the practice cost the government an estimated $34.7 billion between 1996 and 2004, according to the Department of Labor.

Also, a story in today’s Wall Street Journal included a small business human resources expert who called the problem “rampant.” Davis Lewis, president of OperationsInc, an HR and consulting firm, estimated that most of his clients have at least one employee who was misclassified as an independent contractor.

The federal government is aware of the problem and has been cracking down on the practice, spending $25 million in its 2011 budget on the effort, much to the chagrin of Corporate America.

So, how do you know if you’re misclassified? (more…)

It’s great that the economy created nearly 200,000 jobs in February and the jobless rate dipped down below 9 percent, but for a whole class of workers the job market is still crummy.

The number of part-timers who really want a full-time job is still hovering above 8 million, according to the unemployment report released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) was essentially unchanged at 8.3 million in February. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.

And there are still millions more working temp or contract jobs but really want full-time, good-paying, benefits-covering jobs, with a bit more job security.

Demand for temps is expected to jump 20.3 percent this year, according to a recent study a California staffing firm, G. Palmer & Associates. “Following recent trends, our 2011 first-quarter forecast shows continued steady growth and indicates another increase in demand for temporary workers, marking the fifth-consecutive quarter of year-over-year increases,” said Greg Palmer, founder of Palmer.

The BLS hasn’t really tracked temps and contract workers in any real way, but recently added a new “self-employed” category to its data tracking, and that showed about 14 million in January.

It’s the emerging freelance and part-time nation.

It’s bad news for those of us who just want a regular gig; and lately, I’ve been getting more and more questions from readers about how to break out of this employment purgatory and get your temp boss to become your permanent boss. There are ways to try and do that, but I’m not going to sugar coat it, it’s an uphill battle. (more…)

Oh the elusive permanent job.

There’s nothing worse than spending months, even years, working for a company as a temporary worker or freelancer, and forever waiting for your manager to come up to you and say, “we want to hire you as a full-time, real worker.” But these days those words are hard to come by.

Many of you have long been searching for a permanent gig with good pay, benefits and a little job security but companies are loathed to offer that.

“It’s cheaper to hire contingent workers, but also more flexible for employers,” said Bill Kahnweiler, associate professor and human resource expert at Georgia State University’s Department of Public Management and Policy.

It may be easier for employers, but not on the average working stiffs who want to be permanent working stiffs. Also, some employers may be thwarting the law by keeping on temps and freelancers that are actually full-time employees under the law.

One mom I just heard from, Liz, is really upset that her kid can’t get a real job break. (more…)

Contract, freelance and temp workers are the second-class citizens of the workforce.

That’s just how it is folks. You’re not a full-time employee with health benefits, sick time and vacations days. And adding insult to injury, an employer can kick you out the door when ever the heck he or she wants.

Michael D., a long-time contract engineer for a major computer company on the West Coast, recently went through this indignity. But his kick-out-the-door was worse than most. He was ousted because he ate a manager’s salad by mistake, a Caesar salad to be exact. (more…)