To what extent did the increase in wage inequality among men in the United States over the past three decades result from job loss and/or employment instability? We propose a simple method for decomposing the change in wage inequality into components due to upward and downward between-employer mobility and within-employer wage changes using data…

The economic boom of the 1990s veiled a grim reality: in addition to the growing gap between rich and poor, the gap between good and bad quality jobs was also expanding. The postwar prosperity of the mid-twentieth century had enabled millions of American workers to join the middle class, but as author Arne L. Kalleberg shows, by the 1970s this…

With more mothers in the work force and greater stresses created by competing demands of work and home, nonstandard work arrangements (NSWAs), which include temporary help agency work, on-call work, day labor, contract work, independent contracting, self-employment, and part-time work, have been suggested as a remedy for this conflict. For the…

Nonstandard work arrangements (independent contracting, working for a temporary help agency, contract or on-call work, day labor, self-employment, and regular part-time employment) are growing more common in the United States. In 1995, more than 29 percent of all jobs were in nonstandard work arrangements. A study of these jobs and the…

The impact of hiring temporary workers during the tight labor markets of the 1990s was examined through case studies of six hospitals and five automobile plants. The hospitals varied in size from 450 to 6,000 employees. The auto suppliers included unionized and nonunionized small and large companies. The case studies included extensive interviews…