All net new jobs created since 2005 were contractor or temp help jobs.

We are in the Freelance or 1099 or Gig or Uber or "Employees without Benefits" Economy. We are still looking for the phase to describe this new and dreadful economy.

A couple of background articles on the "Employees without Benefits" economy.

New Republic -- Voters are Angry at 1099 Economy

NY Times -- Upshot:Contractors and Temps behind last 10 years of job growth

The rise and nature of alternative work arrangements in the US, 1995-2015

The paper states that all net new jobs created between 2005 and 2015 were independent contractor or temporary help jobs.

Some of the labor costs avoided by using 1099 / Contractors / Temporary Help

Payroll Taxes
Workman Compensation
Unemployment
Minimum Wage
Overtime
Healthcare
Dental
Vision
Life Insurance

Governments struggle to root out Fake Minority Contractors

Governing Magazine and Web-Site has a story on state and local governments inability to find fraudulent contractors.  Some minority business "pass-thru" work on non-minority contractors.

Fake Minority Contractors by Mattie Quinn in Governing Magazine

Good news: The unemployment rate rose in March as workers returned to Job Market. 215K new payroll jobs created.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 215,000 new payroll jobs were created in March 2016 and the unemployment rate rose slightly to 5.0%.  The unemployment rate rose slightly as the labor force expanded by 396,000 job seekers. The labor force participation also cross 63% for the first time since March 2014. The LFP dropped during the recession as many people stopped working or retired.

The BLS released it's March Unemployment report on April 1, 2016.  

Chart of National Unemployment rate and Labor Force Participation Rate

The economy added 215,000 workers in March 2016.  New positions were added in construction, retail trade, transportation, healthcare and leisure/hospitality. Construction and healthcare are important because they pay above average wages.  Manufacturing took another huge hit: down -29,000 job.  Looks like it's game over for US manufacturing.

Chart of Non-Farm Payroll Changes

The Economist:The US needs more competition

The economist has a short story about excessive corporate profits due to monopoly power. The story also talks about lack of competition leading to lower investment and lower overall employment and wages.



Economist: The problem with Profits