Despite decreasing state jobless rates in the past few months, many Californian’s are far from happy with the current job market as more and more of them are finding that they have no choice but to take part-time employment in temporary jobs. 648,000 California workers now work less than thirty-five hours per week because they cannot find the full-time employment they want---a thirty percent increase over the past year, which mirrors a national increase of thirty-three percent in this category of workers to 4.2 million over the same period. With sales down amidst a slump in consumer confidence, many companies are taking advantage of the flexibility and low cost afforded by temporary-hires---leaving many workers struggling in jobs without health benefits at a time when healthcare costs have skyrocketed, and further depressing consumer spending and confidence.
See MARLA DICKERSON, Los Angeles Times, October 31, 2002