The New York Times highlights a disturbing trend that has occurred during the Great Recession: the greater percentage of workers being hired as temporary employees instead of permanent ones. Temporary workers often get lower wages, have little or no benefits, less job security, and less chance of promotion and a lasting career.
This is obviously bad news in the short term, but the possibility that this could be a long term feature of the economy is even more troubling. Unfortunately, Japan provides an example of exactly this occurring.
To make matters worse, unemployed workers who get employed by shifting careers often end up with lower wages and a less satisfying job. This all goes to show that the Great Recession is not just a dire crisis for the unemployed, but also a crisis for many employed workers as well.
Author Bio
Valerie Johnson
Founder
Valerie Johnson is a North Carolina personal injury and workers’ compensation attorney dedicated to helping injured and working people across the state. A board-certified specialist since 2000, she is the Immediate Past President of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice and author of North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Law: A Practical Guide to Success at Every Stage of a Claim.
