It’s assumed that an increase in the number of jobs is a positive thing. Chau and her collaborators examine a growing phenomenon in labor markets: contract employment, which includes temporary jobs, fixed-term work, gig economy, and the subcontracting of work. As production is divided into tasks and the tasks are then subcontracted to workers, these “alternative” arrangements are becoming more a part of the mainstream, with varyingcontract terms. In some countries, over 50% of the workforce is involved insome form of fixed-term labor, which generally offers unstable terms and lower pay.