Between 2001 and 2007, the ASA reports that the percentage of permanent faculty members has remained fairly stable:
The price for this relative stability appears to be increased teaching loads:
It is interesting that losses in full-time faculty have been balanced by decreased courseloads at Masters II institutions, while the stability at Masters I institutions comes with a large increase in courseloads. If the job market was such that the majority of candidates had a choice of schools, I wonder if they would rather work at a school with increasing courseloads or increasing numbers of adjunct faculty.
Via: Inside Higher Ed
Memoirs of a SLACer 