Contingent Labor Comprises 28% of Large Organizations’ Workforce

Staffing Industry Analysts (08/26/2022)

On average, contingent labor makes up 28% of a large company’s workforce, according to a report released earlier this month by MBO Partners.

MBO Partners defines contingent labor as all non-permanent workers, including temporary agency workers, internal temporary workers, freelancers, independent contractors and statement-of-work consultants.

Over the next 18 months, 67% of corporations expect their use of contingent labor to increase. Only 5% of respondents expect their usage to decrease. And over the next five years, almost eight out of 10 corporations expect their use of contingent labor to increase, while only 6% expect it to decline.

MBO Partners now expects the use of contingent labor to increase to 33% in 18 months and 36% in five years.

Additionally, 82% of organizations reported skilled contingent workers make up half or more of their contingent labor force.

The top reasons for using contingent labor for 38% of companies are to meet temporary workload needs, followed by boosting productivity, 35%; getting tasks done more quickly, 33%; getting access to specialized skills and hard-to-hire talent, 28%; and saving money, 14%.