Temporary Jobs on Rise in Anne Arundel

Thousands of Anne Arundel County residents are relying on temporary jobs, according to a Capital Gazette report, as a way to get a foot in the door while employers remain cautious about the economy.

The Gazette spoke with Erwin Fletcher, an Annapolis resident who used a temporary employment firm called Manpower as a stepping stone to a managerial position at a car rental firm. Fletcher was one of 3,700 Anne Arundel County residents who held temporary jobs in 2011, according to the paper.

Nearly 160,000 people statewide held temporary employment at some point during 2011, with an average of over 34,000 engaged in temporary employment on any given day that year, according to American Staffing Association statistics.

"I was able to be productive and get my name out there, and that gave me the confidence to move forward with my life and my career,” Fletcher told the paper. “You just get in a mindset where you think you’re not able to do anything right, whether it’s the resume, interview or whatever.”

In a recent article, US News and World Report wrote about the benefits of temporary work, including psychological advancement and the chance at a full-time role.

In Maryland, temporary jobs have expanded in recent years to high-skill positions, including engineers and programmers.

“Over the last few years, the contract worker employment industry has been extremely busy,” Michael Norton, director of business operations for Hanover-based Aerotek, said in an email to the Gazette. “By hiring contract workers, companies continue to have the flexibility to ramp up or ramp down depending upon their business demands.”