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> Within a decade, contractors and freelancers could make up half of the American workforce. This is pretty shocking to me. With recent trends you can easily s

> Within a decade, contractors and freelancers could make up half of the American workforce. This is pretty shocking to me. With recent trends you can easily see that the other half of the population will be people in IT and health care (home service providers, nurses, etc.) I've never had a contract job, I'm not sure if part-time college jobs count, are contract employees getting work via an agency or are they on their own? If these agencies exist are they helping to negotiate on behalf of their workers? It feels like there is space for a digital employment agency, there must be a way to combine the "flexibility" of contract work with the longer term cushion that comes with a full time job.

JoeAltmaier 9y ago
I've been freelance for decades. Recently I got a gig thru an agency, but only because the corp I'm doing work for has an onerous 'qualified vendor' hurdle I don't have the resources to pass. So all of it exists, as it surely would in an efficient market!
brightball 9y ago
Agencies goals are to negotiate for themselves while keeping compensation of the contractor negotiated to ensure the highest profit margin. Many companies use contract agencies because it shields them from the burden of dealing with unemployment.
stevenwoo 9y ago
Those home service providers and healthcare providers at home are/will be contractors for an agency. I've had to deal with this with in home help for my 86 year old mother, unless you hire someone directly as a freelancer, the help will be a hourly contractor where the agency takes half of the fee.
Spooky23 9y ago
It's called a bodyshop. They've been around for decades.
hatsubai 9y ago
I am a contract employee who gets work via an agency. I have full health benefits (health, vision, dental which costs me about $200/mo), paid holiday, vacation, and even paid overtime (1.5x my hourly rate). All of this was negotiated ahead of time, along with the salary range I was looking for. Any new opportunities that are available, my agency contacts me and asks if I am interested in doing work there, or if I want to stay at my current place. I have been working at my current place in govt defense embedded work for the past 2+ years getting paid more than most direct hires with the only real downsides being no 401k matching and no personal/sick time when looking at total comp. I am also able to work from home and make my own hours, so I am more flexible than direct hires who have to remain in the office during "core hours". Some people here have been contract workers for well over a decade, so as long as the company has a need for you, you can remain on contract. If you want to go direct with the company you are contracted at, you can also negotiate that during their periods when they open up direct hiring. This is my situation here in the Midwest as a defense contractor, so it may differ elsewhere and in different fields of work. Needless to say, it's not a bad gig, especially if you can get into an area where the company can't afford to lose you. For example, I am one of two people in the entire company who knows the OS architecture for every vehicle we make, and I got paid extra money to grind out a few hours a week to learn that architecture.
- ThrustVectoring 9y ago
  >the only real downsides being no 401k matching That's not exactly a downside from a total compensation perspective, so long as you are considered self-employed for setting up a one-participant 401k. You get significantly more control over what portion of your total compensation is taxable vs tax-deferred.
- walshemj 9y ago
  There is a difference between a body shop and a self employed contractor you are an employee or worker of the agency and not really a self employed contractor. Are there no umbrella companies in the USA? like we have in the UK to avoid the IR 35 hassles.

JoeAltmaier 9y ago

I've been freelance for decades. Recently I got a gig thru an agency, but only because the corp I'm doing work for has an onerous 'qualified vendor' hurdle I don't have the resources to pass. So all of it exists, as it surely would in an efficient market!

brightball 9y ago

Agencies goals are to negotiate for themselves while keeping compensation of the contractor negotiated to ensure the highest profit margin. Many companies use contract agencies because it shields them from the burden of dealing with unemployment.

stevenwoo 9y ago

Those home service providers and healthcare providers at home are/will be contractors for an agency. I've had to deal with this with in home help for my 86 year old mother, unless you hire someone directly as a freelancer, the help will be a hourly contractor where the agency takes half of the fee.

Spooky23 9y ago

It's called a bodyshop. They've been around for decades.

hatsubai 9y ago

I am a contract employee who gets work via an agency. I have full health benefits (health, vision, dental which costs me about $200/mo), paid holiday, vacation, and even paid overtime (1.5x my hourly rate). All of this was negotiated ahead of time, along with the salary range I was looking for. Any new opportunities that are available, my agency contacts me and asks if I am interested in doing work there, or if I want to stay at my current place. I have been working at my current place in govt defense embedded work for the past 2+ years getting paid more than most direct hires with the only real downsides being no 401k matching and no personal/sick time when looking at total comp. I am also able to work from home and make my own hours, so I am more flexible than direct hires who have to remain in the office during "core hours". Some people here have been contract workers for well over a decade, so as long as the company has a need for you, you can remain on contract. If you want to go direct with the company you are contracted at, you can also negotiate that during their periods when they open up direct hiring. This is my situation here in the Midwest as a defense contractor, so it may differ elsewhere and in different fields of work. Needless to say, it's not a bad gig, especially if you can get into an area where the company can't afford to lose you. For example, I am one of two people in the entire company who knows the OS architecture for every vehicle we make, and I got paid extra money to grind out a few hours a week to learn that architecture.

ThrustVectoring 9y ago
>the only real downsides being no 401k matching That's not exactly a downside from a total compensation perspective, so long as you are considered self-employed for setting up a one-participant 401k. You get significantly more control over what portion of your total compensation is taxable vs tax-deferred.
walshemj 9y ago
There is a difference between a body shop and a self employed contractor you are an employee or worker of the agency and not really a self employed contractor. Are there no umbrella companies in the USA? like we have in the UK to avoid the IR 35 hassles.