Temporary Help Work: Compensating Differentials and Multiple Job-Holding

Sarah Hamersma, Carolyn Heinrich and Peter Mueser

No 6759, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Temporary Help Services (THS) employment has been growing in size, particularly among disadvantaged workers, and in importance in balancing cyclical fluctuations in labor demand. Does THS employment provide some benefits to disadvantaged workers, or divert them from better jobs? We investigate whether THS jobs pay a compensating differential, as would be expected for relatively undesirable jobs. We also address multiple job-holding, exploring whether workers get "stuck" in THS jobs. We find lower quarterly earnings at THS jobs relative to others, but a $1 per hour wage premium. We reconcile these findings by examining hours worked at THS and traditional jobs.

Keywords: quarterly earnings; compensating differential; temporary employment; wages; multiple jobs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J3 J4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 54 pages
Date: 2012-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab and nep-lma
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Published - published in: Industrial Relations, 2014, 53 (1), 72 - 100

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