Industry Distribution of Temporary Employment

Whether they work through staffing agencies or internally, companies use temporary employees to fill in the gaps between their primary markets (like retail or manufacturing) and secondary services that support those industries (marketing, maintenance, accounting). Unlike permanent workers, these people do not have regular schedules; they are hired for specific assignments that may last for a set period of time. They do work related to core business functions, but may not be allowed access to sensitive information.

The Role of Temporary Jobs in Building Financial Independence

Euworkers are important because they can boost economic activity, help firms weather downturns, and provide flexibility in adjusting the workforce level. They also provide a path to full-time employment for those looking for it, and often pay higher wages than unemployment benefits in most countries. However, in addition to their impact on the economy, they can also create problems for workers. Temporary jobs are more likely to be short-term, and if an employee has multiple stints of temp employment, it can raise concerns that they are a job hopper.

The challenge of measuring the industry distribution of temp jobs is that they are not recorded in the official labor statistics. Therefore, we use data from the Office of Enterprise Surveys (OES) to estimate their sectoral distribution. This data has a number of limitations, including the fact that it is not harmonized across countries, and that panel windows are 4-years long, which limits the ability to examine changes over time. For these reasons, we employ three alternative methods to measure the industry distribution of temp jobs.