Employers hiring more temps

When Jeff Suntup starts up his new fuel-oil service in the next few weeks, he's planning to hire nothing but temporary workers.

Suntup, a local entrepreneur who ran Bernie's Fuel Oil for decades before another owner ran it into bankruptcy this year, said he gave up his previous business in 2003 basically because he tired of dealing with employment hassles at a time when workers held all the cards.

He figures this time around, with a new business concept called Anytime Fuel Oil, his company initially will hire up to 15 temporary workers. The hope is that the new company, thanks partly to the current high unemployment rate, will attract a good group of temporary workers who will compete for permanent, full-time positions that may open up later.

"I've had very good experience with temporary help," Suntup said. "I'm hoping we may be able to get competition between some of these people."

Suntup isn't alone in his desire for temporary workers and part-timers. Staffing firms and work-force analysts say the use of nontraditional workers is a growing trend, fueled by cost-cutting measures and economic worries. A January story in Business Week magazine noted that, while overall temporary employment had been hit hard by the recession, the number of involuntary part-time workers during this time rose to 9.2 million, double what it had been when the economic downturn first hit.

"There's fear and uncertainty," said Peter Gioia, an economist and vice president of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association. "Everyone is asking, 'When are the jobs going to come back?' "

According to Don Klepper-Smith, head of the Governor's Council of Economic Advisers, they're not coming back to pre-recession levels in Connecticut anytime soon, perhaps not until 2015. But temporary jobs have surged over the past year, up nationwide by 345,000 - or 20 percent - while overall employment fell 170,000, he said.

Klepper-Smith added that he expects the hiring of temporary workers to continue to outpace the growth rate of traditional employment in the coming months as employers try to push for more productivity from their work force.

"It's part of the new normal," he said. "Employers only add workers when they contribute to bottom-line profitability."

Uncertainty reigns

Experts said the widespread use of temps provides flexibility to cautious employers in a down economy, allowing them to ramp up production as orders start to trickle in but keep their commitments to a minimum in case another slowdown occurs.

Gioia said he doesn't expect the growing use of temps to translate into permanent jobs until after the November elections, when less uncertainty is in the air.

"People are just starting to stick their toe in the economic bath tub," said Bill Katter, New England regional director for the staffing firm Manpower.

But the increased demand for temporary workers is positive news for the economy - "a harbinger of good things to come," Katter said.

While large companies traditionally have set aside 10 to 15 percent of their work force as temps, "It's way more prevalent when we're coming out of a recession," he added.

And those temporary jobs often lead to permanent employment, he added, even more so when the economy is emerging from a recession. While 45 to 50 percent of temps might wind up with a permanent job in a stable economy, Katter estimated that about 75 percent stay on with employers in post-recessionary times like these.

"The sooner they get back to work, the more attractive an employee they are," he added.

Katter said the first segment that starts hiring temps in New London County tends to be manufacturing, an area where Manpower already is seeing shortages. Temps in manufacturing and warehouse jobs might earn as little as $10 to $11 an hour in temp jobs, he said, while customer-service and medical-biller positions might earn $20 to $30 an hour.

Natalie Roy, owner of Willimantic-based Temporaries of New England, said she first noticed a big uptick in requests for temps about six months ago, but interest has waned more recently. She added that much of the upsurge appeared to be geared toward companies planning to leave Connecticut for other states or countries.

"You can't have permanent employees when you're closing shop," said Roy, whose company has a satellite office in Waterford. "That the real ugly story nobody wants to talk about."

Discouraged workers

Another aspect of the employment picture that gets short shrift, she said, is the continual extension of unemployment benefits, estimated now to have reached a maximum of 99 weeks, which Roy and Manpower's Kotter said has allowed many people to sit on the sidelines. The effect has been to make the unemployment situation look better than it really is - people already on unemployment don't need to file a new claim - and to discourage potential workers from seriously looking for jobs, they said.

The strange disincentive to work, Roy said, becomes particularly troublesome among manufacturing employees used to union wages. Many of these workers, who can get up to two-thirds of their pre-layoff wages while on unemployment, make more from their government benefits than they would by returning to a changed work force.

"Gone are the days of $25 an hour for labor work," Roy said, citing globalization and lower wages overseas. "That's not out there anymore."

John Beauregard, executive director of the Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment Board, said older workers who haven't kept up their skills are particularly at peril when it comes time to re-enter the labor market - whether as a temporary or permanent employee.

"There's a lot of frustration, loss of confidence and wondering if their skills are current," he said.

For those with the proper skills, staffing firms say they offer a great way for prospective employees to get their foot in the door with various companies. Staffing firms such as Manpower and Temps of New England pre-screen candidates, conducting interviews and checking references, so that companies can be confident a temporary worker has the requisite skills.

Roy said many firms don't have time to advertise a position, sort through 1,000 résumés and conduct 10 interviews.

"A lot of companies use us as an extension to their (human resources) department," she said.

While some studies have shown temp workers face more anxiety than permanent employees over such issues as job security and health care benefits, agency officials say such employment also has positive effects. Workers can get firsthand experience in different industries to see if they like them and employers can test the skills of temps to see if they are right for the job.

Derek Ellis, 29, of Norwich, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and current student at the University of Connecticut who spent part of the summer working as an enumerator for the U.S. Census Bureau and another few weeks seeking jobs through Labor Ready, said he enjoyed temp work.

"It was better than a dead-end job, doing the same thing day after day," Ellis said. "That, to me, seems more discouraging. I liked the variety."

Ellis made $17 an hour doing Census work and minimum wage of $8.25 at Labor Ready.

With Labor Ready, he lined up sometimes with 40 people when only 20 jobs were available. He wound up working with a moving company, mowing grass, sorting scrap metal, setting up a convention, toiling on an egg farm and losing 12 pounds along the way.

"I couldn't complain, because it was a job," Ellis said. "It was like with the Marines - you've got to get up and move on to the next mission even if you didn't know what was going to happen."