Three years ago, 10 percent of the graduates took contingent jobs.

Just how many Americans are landing contingent jobs is impossible to pin down.

Although they're often represented as stepping stones in a career, temp and other so-called contingent jobs rarely lead to permanent employment.

The University of Toledo reports that 30 percent of its graduates have to take contingent jobs, an uncommonly high proportion for college graduates.

Temp and other contingent jobs frequently mean lower wages than those earned by their permanent counterparts, and there are typically no health care or retirement benefits.

In the United States, where the central bank has been less aggressive in targeting inflation, lower levels of unemployment limited, to a lesser extent, the growth in contingent jobs.

As a result, companies are increasingly offering contingent jobs - part-time and temporary jobs or contract work under which a company takes on a candidate for a specific task for up to a year.

Among the other findings, the report concluded that the educational attainment of adults in contingent jobs was quite similar to those with secure futures; about 29 percent of those in each group have college degrees.