All forms of consulting suffer from this problem. And in this case I can't really blame the companies involved. If money gets tight which would you rather companies kept, long term employees or short term consultants?
It could develop into a serious problem down the road, if too many people become consultants there will be less soak in the economy in case of a down turn. This can easily create a downward spiral situation, which can only be broken by government intervention or hitting the bottom.
Jay