数据也显示，雇主对非标准劳工的投入较少：part-time workers 更容易流动，contractors 的年收入低于标准员工，而 freelancers 虽然普遍赚得较少，却有较高工作满意度，主要原因是时间自主，59% 的受访者这样回答。相对地，marginal workers 平均收入高于 contractors，但满意度大致相当。作者亦指出，临时工使用自 1990 年代以来呈上升趋势，adjunct professors 的占比也持续增加。
这种「可抛式」劳动不仅影响个人职涯，也带来公共与企业成本。研究例子显示，清洁工作 contractor 增加与加州医院 C. diff 感染率上升相关，石化业 contractor 增加也与事故率上升同时发生；原因包括 contractor 不熟悉组织规范、以及与正式员工沟通不良。作者主张政策应提供 gig workers、freelancers、contractors 与 marginal workers 更明确的资格认定、最低保护与福利，因为 AI 可能进一步扩大这类劳工规模，而提高工资与福利、以及透过工会或倡议改善代表性，都是可行方向。
US labor markets are increasingly reliant on “disposable workers,” according to a 2022 nationally representative survey of 6,141 adults and supporting interviews. More than one-third of adult workers are disconnected from the organization they work for. The shift is driven less by gig workers, who make up under 2% of the workforce, and more by marginal workers and contractors, including staff attorneys, adjunct faculty, and many part-timers.
The data show weaker employer investment in nonstandard labor. Part-time workers have higher turnover, contractors earn less than standard employees, and freelancers report lower pay but higher job satisfaction, mainly because of schedule control; 59% said that was their primary reason for freelancing. Marginal workers earn more than contractors on average, but are about as dissatisfied. Temporary help employment has trended upward since the 1990s, and adjunct faculty shares have also risen.
The broader costs extend beyond workers. Contractor-heavy cleaning in California hospitals was linked to higher C. diff infection rates, while greater contractor use in petrochemicals coincided with more accidents, likely due to unfamiliarity with procedures and poor communication. The author argues for clearer federal worker-status rules, stronger protections and benefits for gig workers, freelancers, contractors, and marginal workers, and better pay and representation through legislation, regulation, unions, or advocacy, especially as AI may expand this workforce further.