—17 REFER TO THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE.THE LABOR MARKET IS CHA...

Questions 14—17 refer to the following passage.The labor market is changing yet again. Increasingly, American business is turning to interimstaffing to cover a greater number of its employment vacancies. Once interim (or temporary)staffing was reserved for the lower-level positions requiring little training, such as an envelopestuffer, receptionist, day laborer, and the like. Today, however, a more highly trained professionalis being sought for interim work. It is not uncommon to find computer programmers, writers,marketing professionals, CPAs, and even chief financial officers working in an interim capacity.The reasons for these changes in staffing norms is generated at both the employer and employeelevel.Employers are pushing the drive toward interim staffing in order to maintain maximum flex-ibility. Companies can be more innovative and flexible in their planning cycles if they have theoption to hire employees on an as-needed basis. Additionally, employers save money using interimstaffers, as they are not required to provide health insurance to temporary workers and they arenot obligated to pay severance when the job terminates.Employees, too, are pushing the trend toward interim staffing. Increasingly, professionals areseeking more flexibility in their work schedules—often in response to family obligations. No longerdoes the permanent 9 to 5, Monday through Friday schedule work for everyone. By workinginterim, employees can work when it fits theirschedules.However, interim staffing is not for everyone. Organizations whose workflow requires con-tinuity of personnel may find interim staffing an impediment to productivity. Likewise, employ-ees who need a steady source of income or who require the health insurance and other benefitsprovided by permanent employers may find the unpredictability in interim work problematic.14. According to the passage, the main benefit to employers of interim staffing isa. cost savings from not having to provide benefits.b. constant influx of new ideas.c. flexibility in hiring.d. flexibility in scheduling.e. a more highly trained interim employee pool.15. The main purpose of this passage is toa. convince employers to use interim staffing.b. explain the difference between temporary and permanent staffing.c. explain which companies benefit most from interim staffing.d. explain why interim staffing has become popular with employers and employees.e. convince employers that interim employees also deserve health benefits.16. Given the author’s purpose, which of the following would most enhance this passage?a. an interview with an interim employeeb. statistics illustrating the increased emphasis on interim staffingc. a discussion of whether interim employees deserve benefitsd. examples of positions that are not good for interim employeese. statistics illustrating how much a company can save by using interim employees17. From the passage, it can be inferred thata. interim employment is appealing to many segments of the labor market.b. interim employees are often less qualified than permanent employees.c. because of cost savings, interim employees will eventually overtake most permanent positions.d. because of scheduling flexibility, more permanent employees will opt for interim positions.e. interim staffing is itself a temporary solution to fluctuations in the labor market.