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US Employers Increasingly Choose ‘Disposable’ Workers
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US Employers Increasingly Choose ‘Disposable’ Workers
A new labor study shows that
US employers treat over one in three workers as disposable.
That comes to nearly 57 million people across the country.
The researcher found three main types of disposable workers.
First, contractors like office cleaners make up 13% of the workforce.
Second, organizational freelancers like app drivers account for 5%.
Third, marginal workers make up 17% of all workers.
These marginal workers have standard jobs,
but they lack job security and promotion paths.
For example, staff attorneys do grunt work without any chance of promotion.
Also, adjunct professors held 68% of college teaching jobs in 2021,
compared to just 27% in 1970.
Part-time marginal workers are another huge group used to save money.
On average, part-time jobs pay nearly 20% less per hour than full-time jobs.
Managers like this high turnover,
because it lets them adjust staff quickly without paying extra benefits.
In fact, after healthcare laws required coverage for 30-hour workweeks,
low-wage companies added 500,000 part-time jobs just to avoid those costs.
This shift saves businesses big money,
but it leaves millions of workers with lower pay and unstable lives.
Quiz 🧠
Q1. In the US, do companies often hire part-time workers to save on benefits?
Show answer
✅ Yes
Part-time workers often do not receive expensive benefits like healthcare, which saves companies money.
Q2. What does "disposable" mean in "disposable workers"?
Show answer
✅ easy to replace
"Disposable" describes something or someone that can be easily thrown away or replaced.
Q3. When US laws require healthcare for 30-hour workweeks, why do some companies cut worker hours?
Show answer
✅ To avoid healthcare costs
Keeping hours under the legal limit lets businesses avoid paying for mandatory employee healthcare.
Dialogue 🎧
Liam: Did you read that new labor study? US employers treat fifty-seven million people as disposable!
Charlotte: Wait, fifty-seven million? That comes to over one in three workers across the country!
Liam: That is wild! Is that mostly app drivers and freelancers?
Charlotte: Actually, no. Organizational freelancers make up only five percent. The researcher found three main types.
Liam: Really? So who else counts as disposable?
Charlotte: Contractors like office cleaners make up thirteen percent. Then there are marginal workers.
Liam: Marginal workers? What does that even mean?
Charlotte: They have standard jobs, but lack job security and promotion paths. They account for seventeen percent.
Liam: So like staff attorneys doing grunt work with no promotion?
Charlotte: Yes, exactly! Adjunct professors are another big example. They held sixty-eight percent of college teaching jobs in 2021.
Liam: That is a huge jump. Back in 1970, that was only twenty-seven percent.
Charlotte: Right, it really shifted. Part-time marginal workers are another huge group used to save money.
Liam: How much money do businesses actually save?
Charlotte: Part-time jobs pay nearly twenty percent less per hour than full-time jobs.
Liam: Oof. And managers love that high turnover, right?
Charlotte: Yes, because high turnover lets them adjust staff quickly. They avoid paying extra benefits.
Liam: Like health insurance coverage?
Charlotte: Exactly. After healthcare laws required coverage for thirty-hour workweeks, low-wage companies added five hundred thousand part-time jobs.
Liam: They added half a million jobs just to avoid those costs? That is unbelievable.
Charlotte: This shift saves businesses big money. However, it leaves millions of workers with lower pay and unstable lives.
Liam: It really makes me look at everyday jobs differently. That whole system feels so broken.