At 6:17 AM 12/31/96, Richardson_D wrote: >2nd item. While ATT conducted a major down sizing this year, it has >now hired enough people so that employment over the year is unchanged. > This reminds me of the perennial story of the guy who was downsized >out and then offered his old job back as a temp, i.e. without >benefits. My hazy memory recalls that he worked for ATT in Basking >Ridge. Does anyone have solid information on the down sizing-rehiring >phenemenon? The New York Times had a story a couple of weeks ago quoting the BLS as saying something like a million people work under such arrangements. If I remember right, it was based on the displaced worker survey, and said 17% of the displaced were rehired by their old employer under some contingent arrangement. I'm amazed at how contingent work in general gets so much ink, but at least in the U.S. doesn't seem all that pervasive - under 5% of employment, and something like half of those are happy with their contingency. And the ILO's latest annual report says there's no significan rise in contingent work around the world, except in countries that recently legalized it. Is officialdom lying to us, or are journalists (and Stanley Aronowiz) following that old dictum: "simplify & exaggerate"? Doug -- Doug Henwood Left Business Observer 250 W 85 St New York NY 10024-3217 USA +1-212-874-4020 voice +1-212-874-3137 fax email: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> web: <http://www.panix.com/~dhenwood/LBO_home.html>
