Re: Top Ex-White House Economist Admits 94% Of All New Jobs Under Obama Were Part-Tim
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'a report by Harvard and Princeton economists Lawrence Katz and Alan Krueger, confirms exactly what we warned. In their study, the duo show that from 2005 to 2015, the proportion of Americans workers engaged in what they refer to as “alternative work” soared during the Obama era, from 10.7% in 2005 to 15.8% in 2015. Alternative, or "gig" work is defined as "temporary help agency workers, on-call workers, contract company workers, independent contractors or freelancers", and is generally unsteady, without a fixed paycheck and with virtually no benefits.
The two economists also found that each of the common types of alternative work increased from 2005 to 2015—with the largest changes in the number of independent contractors and workers provided by contract firms, such as janitors that work full-time at a particular office, but are paid by a janitorial services firm.
Krueger, who until 2013 was also the top White House economist serving as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under Obama, was "surprised" by the finding.
Quoted by quartz, he said “We find that 94% of net job growth in the past decade was in the alternative work category,” said Krueger. “And over 60% was due to the [the rise] of independent contractors, freelancers and contract company workers.” In other words, nearly all of the 10 million jobs created between 2005 and 2015 were not traditional nine-to-five employment.'
https://krueger.princeton.edu/sites...r/files/katz_krueger_cws_-_march_29_20165.pdf
Top Ex-White House Economist Admits 94% Of All New Jobs Under Obama Were Part-Time | Zero Hedge
Thoughts?
Finally... someone posts about the real weakness in our economy. This arguing about the Labor Participation Rate, which is something very few people understand, was ludicrous, as that was really more of a testament to a strength than a weakness, was a distraction from the real weakness.
The problem is a lack of good, steady middle income jobs. This phenomenon, however, is structural. It is not the fault of Obama nor Bush.... as it goes back for several decades. But, if you want to blame a President for this, its probably Reagan. Our tax policies and our union busting had much to do with wage decline.... but that is not completely what we are speaking about here.
Similar to the labor participation rate, however, don't think that a raw number is inherently a bad thing (or a good thing). Numbers are not qualitative. The advent of the personal computer and mobile phones have made operating as a sole entity much easier than it was several decades ago. The social contract between large companies and their employees (it use to be an offer for a job with IBM was an offer for a lifetime career with IBM) expired in the 1980's (for a variety of reasons, including emphasis on short-term profits), meaning smart people are more nibble (they stay self-employed).
Note the title of the piece by the Princeton University Professor is: "The Rise and Nature of Alternative Work Arrangements in the United States, 1995-2015".... his piece is not qualitative either. it speaks to the economic ramifications of a social trend.... and it studies it from the Clinton administration (again, nothing to do with Obama)
https://krueger.princeton.edu/sites...r/files/katz_krueger_cws_-_march_29_20165.pdf
I, for one, have been pretty much free-lance since 1990. I have had some "gigs" (I probably have had 10 W-2's since 1990)... so, I would be in that statistic... but, I have also been a 1% in terms of income through much (but not all..also had a few bad years) of that period. Again, I hate examples of one, except they are arguments against "all" or "none".....
So, I caution you to think that this is necessarily a "bad thing".
