The Advantages Of Creating A Flexible Workforce

By Renee Cummings, Astrix Technology Group

The economic downturn in 2008, which began with the bursting of an 8 trillion dollar housing bubble, had a substantial impact on the job market. In 2008 and 2009, the U.S. labor market lost 8.4 million jobs, or 6.1% of all payroll employment, producing by far the largest labor contraction of any recession since the Great Depression. During this period, businesses from a variety of different industries recorded significant job losses:

• Hewlett-Packard – 47,540 jobs
• General Motors – 107,357 jobs
• Citigroup – 73,056 jobs
• Verizon Wireless – 39,000 jobs
• Pfizer – 31,771 jobs
• Dow Chemical – 17,530 jobs