Summary:
- Temp workers’ wages have increased by 43% between 2016 and 2024, while the industry pricing (PPI) rose by only 29%.
- Just 4 out of 22 major occupational groups now pay temp workers more than full-time employees.
- Camera Operators & Editors earn roughly 49% more as temps than full-time employees in the same roles.
- Temp workers in sales have seen the greatest increase in value in recent years.
- Temp roles in business and financial operations have lost the most value compared to their full-time counterparts.
A recent analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, by altLINE, the factoring division of The Southern Bank Company, has found that temporary workers’ wages are increasingly catching up with full-time pay. However, this trend varies significantly across occupations and levels of exposure to AI adoption.
altLINE’s analysis compared temporary and full-time wages across occupations between 2016 and 2024, alongside staffing industry Produce Price Index (PPI) data, identifying which temp work has become more or less financially competitive.
- To view the full analysis, visit: https://altline.sobanco.com/best-roles-for-temp-workers/
Data showed that across all occupations, temporary worker wages have increased by 43% between 2016 and the latest data in 2024, while staffing industry pricing has increased by 29%.
On average, data show that the gap between temporary workers’ pay and the national median hourly wage narrowed between 2016 and 2024. In 2016, BLS data showed that temporary workers earned 27% less than the national median; this figure is now 21% as of 2024.
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However, despite the overall cutting of the full-time to temporary worker gap, just four out of the 22 major occupational groups pay temporary workers more than their full-time employees, on average.
altLINE found that, among these major occupational groups, Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media occupations have the highest premium, with temporary workers earning more than their full-time counterparts. In all, temporary workers in the occupation group earn 25% more than full-time workers in the same industry.
Digging deeper into the occupational group data, altLINE found that Film Camera Operator and Editor roles have the highest premium. Temp workers in the roles reportedly earn an average of 49% more than their full-time counterparts.
Outside Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media occupations, Sales-related roles are the only other field in which temporary workers have an average earning rate of more than 20% above full-time wages. Data showing that, between 2020 and 2024, temporary Sales-related workers saw their pay premium (compared to full-time workers) increase from 11% in 2020 to 34% in 2024.
Community and Social Service occupations saw the second-largest increase, and it could be the most notable for its potential impact. Over the 2020 to 2024 period, temporary workers in Community and Social Service occupations saw their pay rise from 21% less than that of their full-time counterparts to pay parity.
In contrast, altLINE found that those in Business and Financial Operations occupations recorded the largest decline in temp-worker value among major occupational groups. Figures showed that between 2020 and 2024, temporary workers in Business and Financial Operations roles saw the wage gap widen, from earning 13% less than their full-time counterparts in 2020 to 22% less in 2024.
Another role that saw a significant change was Library Assistants (Clerical), which experienced the sharpest decline. In 2020, temporary workers in the role earned around 25% more than their full-time counterparts, but by 2024, this had reversed to a 22% pay deficit.
During their analysis, altLINE noted that recent data from Microsoft highlighted how various roles are more exposed to AI development and adoption. altLINE finding that some of the most exposed – Proofreaders & Copymarkers and Interpreters & Translators – have already started to experience declines in relative pay among temporary workers.
When it comes to the major occupational groups with the biggest difference between full-time and temporary workers, those in Educational Instruction and Library occupations have the biggest divide. Analysis showed that temporary workers are paid nearly half the hourly rate of their full-time counterparts, working out to an average of more than $11 less per hour.
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