LABOR-MARKETS AND EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES IN THE AGE OF FLEXIBILITY - A CASE-STUDY OF SILICON VALLEY

Flexible employment has accounted for more than half of Silicon Valley 's total employment growth in the past ten years. Given the area's tre nd-setting role in global high-technology production, this pattern is likely to spread. Focusing on temporary employment agencies, the autho rs show that this and other forms of flexible employment have become a permanent strategy among firms. This may create insecurity for low-sk illed workers, but highly skilled workers are using the system to thei r own advantage. The main problem for firms is no longer a lack of fle xibility, but an undesirably high turnover rate among their most valua ble employees.