Inside the Black Box of Temporary Help Agencies

Michael Kvasnicka

Labor and Demography from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: Based on a new panel dataset created in close cooperation with one of the largest temporary help agencies (THAs) in Germany, this paper presents novel evidence on key aspects of temporary agency work, a segment of the labor market that despite its growing importance remains underresearched. In particular, we provide detailed information on the internal operation of a THA and the allocative function it performs both as an intermediate demander and as a final supplier of labor in this submarket. In addition to offering first examination of effective wage and fee schedules, we document, among others, the rise of on-call hiring, recalls and fixed-term contracts in the recruitment of workers, the reasons for job termination, as well as the volume of labor actually contracted per worker and per worker-client match. We show that the THA manages to utilize effectively its workforce in assignments and keeps idle labor at a minimum. In fact, more than a third of workers exhibit multiple client engagements. One-off recruitment and dismissal costs per worker can thus effectively be spread across different clients.

Keywords: temporary help; agency work; flexible employment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J20 J30 J40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 34 pages
Date: 2003-11-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab
Note: Type of Document - pdf; pages: 34
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (21)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Inside the Black Box of Temporary Help Agencies (2003)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wpa:wuwpla:0311001

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