Temporary jobs becoming a permanent fixture

Hiring is exploding in the one corner of the U.S. economy where few want to be hired: temporary work.

From Wal-Mart to General Motors to PepsiCo, companies are increasingly turning to temps and to a much larger universe of freelancers, contract workers and consultants. Combined, these workers number nearly 17 million people who have only tenuous ties to the companies that pay them — about 12% of everyone with a job.

Hiring is always healthy for an economy. Yet the rise in temp and contract work shows that many employers aren't willing to hire for the long run.

The number of temps has jumped more than 50% since the recession ended four years ago to nearly 2.7 million — the most on government records dating to 1990. In no other sector has hiring come close.

Driving the trend are lingering uncertainty about the economy and employers' desire for more flexibility in matching their payrolls to their revenue. Some employers have also sought to sidestep the new health care law's rule that they provide medical coverage for permanent workers. Last week, though, the Obama administration delayed that provision of the law for a year. Read more >>

The (Big) Business of Food Stamps: “Here’s Where the Profits Come in”

Aaron Task  
Daily Ticker 
In 2011, a record 46 million people - or 1 in 7 Americans -- participated in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), better known as Food Stamps. The increased use of Food Stamps is a huge social and political issue for America, and it's also big business. In 2011, the U.S. government spent $72 billion on Food Stamps.

Among the beneficiaries, food producers such as Cargill, PepsiCo., Coca-Cola and Kraft, as well as retailers like Wal-Mart. Of course, Wall Street gets a cut too, led by JPMorgan Chase, which administers the SNAP benefits in 24 states.

In the accompanying video, I discuss the (big) business of Food Stamps with Marion Nestle, professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University and author of several books, most recently Why Calories Count.