Temporary jobs on the rise in Michiana

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. -- Thousands pass through South Bend everyday, many of them looking for work.

Across town, ringing phones fill the room at staffing agencies like Manpower in MIshawaka.

A little farther East, in Elkhart, jobs are looking to be filled.

"I think it's the volatility of the demand of their products, and the flexibility they have," Michelle Shaffer, Branch Manager of Manpower in Mishawaka and Elkhart, said.

Lately, she and her staff have been busy connecting the unemployed to the employers a whole lot more.

"A lot of companies will advertise, and when they advertise, they'll get a fairly large amount of people applying, but not necessarily qualified candidates for the positions," Shaffer said.

Positions that vary in length.

Today, around 12 percent of the U.S. workforce is going to their job only a few hours a week, a percentage that hasn't been see in over 20 years.

"We have a lot of part time help," Vanessa Cooreman Smith, Owner of Flourish Boutique, said. "We count on that."

She only has 13 employees; someday though, she'll hire more.

She said a lot of stores like hers are lukewarm about expanding because of the health care law.

"I feel a little hemmed in," Cooreman Smith said. "As we grow, I have to be mindful of the fact that if you surpass 50 employees, then you have to provide healthcare."

That puts Michiana in a tight position.

Businesses can't afford to hire full-time, and the unemployed can't afford to turn down a temp job.