For One Family, Contract Work Means 'Feast Or Famine' As Income Varies
An NPR/Marist survey found that 1 in 5 workers is a contractor, not a steady payroll employee. For about half of these workers, income can vary greatly from month to month, making budgeting difficult.
A new NPR/Marist poll finds that 1 in 5 jobs in America is held by a worker under contract. Within a decade, contractors and freelancers could make up half of the American workforce. In a weeklong series, NPR explores many aspects of this change.
For Tom Hansen and his family, the past few weeks have been a time of feast or famine.
December was especially busy at the suburban Denver restaurant where Hansen works, and the 39-year-old was given plenty of shifts. But now with the holidays over,
