Economic Report
Enabling work, adaptation,
security & prosperity
2017 edition

ABOUT THE WORLD EMPLOYMENTCONFEDERATION
The World Employment Confederation is the voice of theemployment industry at the global level, uniting labour
market enablers from 50 countries and 8 of the largest
international workforce solutions companies.
The World Employment Confederation brings unique accessto and engagement with international policymakers (ILO,
OECD, World Bank, IMF, IOM, EU) and key stakeholders (IOE,
trade unions, academic world, think tanks, NGOs).
The World Employment Confederation strives for recognitionof the economic and social role played by the employment
industry in enabling work, adaptation, security and prosperityin our societies. Its members provide access to the labour
market and meaningful work to 50 million people around theworld and serve around 5 million organisations on a yearlybasis.
The World Employment Confederation is organised under6 regions: Europe, North America, Latin America, APAC
Southern, North East Asia and Africa.
This report is a shorter extract of
the full WEC Economic Report.
For more extensive information
check the report online.

www.wecglobal.org/economicreport2017
All rights reserved © WEC 2017

Enabling WorkCONTENTS

17

Create more work opportunities
Provide a stepping stone
Deliver quality & meaningful work

Foreword4

Improve access to & transparency of labour market

Denis Pennel
World Employment Confederation
Managing Director
Enabling Adaptation
Key indicators

8

1- Enabling work

17

Create more work opportunities Provide a stepping stone
Deliver quality & meaningful workImprove access to & transparency of labour market

2- Enabling adaption
Deliver diversified workforce solutionsImprove employability by upskilling 
Facilitate work transitions & mobility 
Adapt workforce to production needs

3- Enabling security
Act as career agent 
Deliver portable rights
Secure access to talents
Increase business competitiveness

4- Enabling prosperity
Reduce undeclared work & unemployment 
Increase inclusiveness and diversity
Increase work incomes & purchasing power
Enrich GDP by sales revenues

18
19
21
25

27

Deliver diversified workforce solutions
Improve employability by upskilling
Facilitate work transitions & mobility
Adapt workforce to production needs

27
28
29
32
35

Enabling Security

37

Act as career agent

38
40
41
42

Deliver portable rights

37

Secure access to talents
Increase business competitiveness

45
46
47
50
51

Annexes53
Glossary of terms
53
Members54

Enabling Prosperity
Reduce undeclared work & unemployment
Increase inclusiveness and diversity
Increase work incomes & purchasing power
Enrich GDP by sales revenues

45

Foreword
Dear reader,
As labour maket enablers, the members of the World Employment
Confederation contribute to a better functioning job market. Thanks
to the combined 169,000 employment agencies and 1.5 million HR
specialists it regroups around the world, the industry enables work,
adaptation, security and prosperity.
The 2017 edition of the World Employment Confederation’s Economic
Report documents these four enabling functions, by compiling robust
facts and figures about the employment industry. The number ofworkers who were able to access the labour market after intermediation
by a recruitment and employment agency reached 50 million people in2015, including a majority of youngsters! The turnover of the industry
across the globe totaled €417 billion, providing sustainable workforce
solutions to 5 million organisations. There is much more information to
be found in the report. I invite you to browse through it and find out for
yourself.
In addition to the hardcopy of this report, a complementary online
version is available with additional data. For a full overview of the report,
please visit www.wecglobal.org/economicreport2017. This will makeit easier for you to browse through the report and share or repost its
content more easily.
If you have any questions after reading the report, please feel free to get
in touch with the World Employment Confederation's Head Office at
info@wecglobal.org.
Denis Pennel
Managing Director

4

WEC Economic Report 2017

The employment industry
enables work adaptation, security
and prosperity, contributing
to a better society”

DENIS PENNELWorld Employment
Confederation
Managing Director

KEY FINDINGSThe employment industry has been leading in a changing world of work for decades.
It does so by acting as enabler in the labour market, offering a full range of HR
services, including agency work, direct recruitment, career management, recruitment
process outsourcing (RPO) and managed services provision (MSP).
At a global level, the employment industry:

Enables work

Enables security

Each year, around 50 million people access thelabour market thanks to an employment agency (43million of whom via agency work). On average, 17%of them are students working while studying (31% ofagency workers are younger than 25 years old) and
44% are women. 81% of agency workers are satisfied
with their work (with 34% being very satisfied). In
terms of penetration rate, agency work accounts for
1.7% of the global working population. With a global
turnover amounting to €417 billion and 1.5 million
HR consultants, the industry generates an importanteconomic added value to society.

On average, before entering into agency work 33%
of workers were unemployed, while afterwards only
21% went back to unemployment. Similarly, 43% of
people starting agency work were employed before,
while 71% remain in employment afterwards. Fromthe business side, 50% of UK companies recognisethat agency work is important to secure short term
access to key strategic skills. Companies using
innovative workforce solutions such as RPO or MSP
are able to reduce hiring costs by 38%.

Enables adaptation

Enables prosperity

In a changing world of work, the employment
industry supports over 5 million companies
each year to adapt to an increasingly volatileenvironment. On the workers’ side, 62% ofagency workers in the USA agree that they
developed new skills or improved their skills
while temping. In France, 90% of agency workers
say temping is useful to acquire professional
experience and 78% to get trained.

By reducing frictional unemployment, the industry
contributes to public budgets, saving governments
the cost of unemployment benefits. In addition, theprovision of flexible workforce solutions leads toa reduction of undeclared work, increasing social
charges and corporate tax being paid. Finally, theindustry drives inclusiveness and participation to thelabour market: 34% of agency workers are younger
than 25 years old and 44% are women.
WEC Economic Report 20175

THE EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRYLabour market enablers

Create more
work
opportunities
Providestepping stone

Reduceundeclared
work &
unemployment

ENABLING
SECURITYUSTEDLWEC Economic Report 2017

R
O
VIS
D
A
ABO
UR MARKET

Act ascareeragent

Improve
employability by
upskilling

Adapt workforce
to production
needs

S

Increase work
income &purchasing
power

LABOUR
MARKET
ENABLERSILITY CREATORSAG

Enrich GDP by
sales revenues

ENABLING
PROSPERITYENABLING
WORK

Increasebusiness
competitiveness6

Facilitate worktransitions andsocial mobility

INTEGRATO
CIAL
RS
SO

TR

As a result, employment andrecruitment agencies act associal integrators, agility creators,
trusted labour market advisors
and growth drivers.

Improve
access to &transparencyof labourmarketENABLING
ADAPTATION

By doing so, the industry:
gives hopedevelops confidencebuilds trust
delivers pride

Increaseinclusion &diversity

OWTH DRIVERSGR

The employment industry
enables work, adaptation,
security & prosperity.

Providequality &meaningful
work

Secureaccess totalentProvide worklife balance

Deliver
portablerightsThe range of services delivered by the membersof the World Employment Confederation
Supply & demand of work

LABOUR MARKET INTELLIGENCETALENT ACQUISITIONPLACEMENTADVISORY SERVICES

Regulatory environment

Sourcing candidates

Skills mapping

Employee referrals

Labour market surveys

Skills assessment

Thought leadership

Testing

Agency Work
Direct (perm & temporary)

CAREER MANAGEMENT

Off boarding

Contract for servicing

HR Consulting

Self-employed

Workforce Analytics

Apprenticeship

Strategic Workshop Planning

RPO
MSP

MANAGED SERVICES

On boarding

BPO

Job Search councelling
Capacity building
Process excellence

Human Cloud

Training

Payrolling

Outplacement
Career Transitions
Welfare-to-Work
Coaching
Compensation & Benefits
Leadership Development
Performance Assessment

WEC Economic Report 20177

Globalmarket size of

Key indicators€ 417
billion(sales revenues)

THE EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRY
IN 2015
In 2015, the employment industry succeeded to support
50 million people entering and progressing in the labour
market at the global level. Thanks to the wide range of HR
services it offers (including agency work, direct recruitment,
career management, recruitment process outsourcing andmanaged services provision), the industry contributes to abetter functioning labour market and achieved a €417 billion
global turnover.
Acting as social integrators, agility creators, trusted labour
market advisors and growth drivers, the 169,000 employment
agencies the World Employment Confederation gathers –supported by the 1.5 million staff working as HR consultants,
branch managers and administrative assistants – simplify theincreasing complexity of the world of work.

Global market size
(sales revenues)
Within the employment industry, the Agency
Work market (without MSP activities) accounts
for 67% of the overall global sales revenues of theemployment industry, followed by the MSP market(22%) and the Direct Recruitment market (9%).
€ 279 bn

Agency Work
MSP

Direct Recruitment€ 95 bn€ 36.8 bn
RPO € 3.3 bn

Career management€ 3 bnBy enabling work, adaptation, security and prosperity, theemployment industry gives hope, develops confidence, builds
trust and delivers pride to both individuals and companies.
NB: Exchange rate to the € is based on 2015 annual average

8

WEC Economic Report 2017

169,000
employment& recruitment
agencies and1.5 million
internal staff
to help people
navigate thelabour market

Number ofagencies
Europe40%

North
America
13%

South
America20%

Africa2%

Asia Pacific25%

Number ofinternal staff
North
America
10%Europe19%

Africa1%

Asia Pacific
52%

South
America18%

WEC Economic Report 2017

9

The
Employment
industry in2015 helped
aroundAgency Work Headcounts
43,319,404 individuals

50
millionpeopleaccess thelabour market
at global level
RPO & MSP
2,500,000 individuals

Career Management
3,000,000 individuals

Direct Recruitment
2,118,306 individuals

NB: number of individuals
only covers activities fromthe members of the World
Employment Confederation

10

WEC Economic Report 2017

Agentina
Australia
Austria
BelgiumBrazilBulgaria
CanadaChile
China
Colombia
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
FinlandFranceGermany
GreeceHungary
India
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Luxemburg
MexicoMoroccoNetherlands
New Zealand
NorwayPolandPortugal
Romania
RussiaSouth Africa
Spain
SwedenSwitzerland
United Kingdom
USA50,664550,000
226,000
608,591
507,564
10,000450,000
148,118
8,680,000
513,069
16,000250,000
20,6475,000
100,000
2,000,000
949,227
10,316
124,576
2,100,000
120,000
640,000
2,630,325
24,164
1,765,101
62,000770,136
105,000
95,000799,727
118,000
67,06775,767900,000
562,345
153,000
314,000
1,198,000
15,600,000

Agency Worksales revenues€374
billionTHE AGENCY WORK MARKET

in 2015

Top 15 countries ranked by sales revenues (2015)
The Agency Work market amounted
to €374 billion in 2015 (MSP activities
included), with the USA being the leading
country in terms of market shares (31%)
followed by the UK (11%) and Japan (10%).
In terms of regional split, North America
is the largest region (36%), followed by
Europe (accounts for 35%) and Asia/
Pacific (22%).

Billions €
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

USA
UK
Japan
China
Germany
FranceAustralia
Netherlands
CanadaItaly
Switzerland
Belgium
India
South Africa
Spain

116.3
43.4
37.7
29.9
29.8
17.7
12.2
12.1
11.0
8.0
6.6
4.9
4.1
3.7
3.3

WEC Economic Report 2017

11

USA

Japan

EuropeGlobal

2.2%

2.0%

1.9%

1.7%

THE AGENCY WORK MARKET
Penetration rate by country (2015)

Agency Work represents alimited part of the global working
population (1.7%), with a higher
penetration rate in the USA (2.2%),
Japan (2%) and Europe (1.9%)

3,8%
3,7%
3,5%

2,8%

3,0%

2,7%

2,2%

2,4%

2,2%
2,1%

2,0%

2,0%

1,8%

1,6%

1,8%

1,5%

1,2%

1,3%

1,2%

0,8%
1,0%

1,1%

0,9%

0,8%

0,6%

0,7%

0,6%

0,6%

0,5%

0,6%

0,5%
0,3%
0,2%

0,1%

0,2%

UK AU NZ NL LU HU DE BE US FR JP PO AU CH SE ZA PL

12WEC Economic Report 2017FI

IT NO CZ MX BR DK CA CO EE ES LV CL HR RO LT MA GR

THE DIRECT RECRUITMENT MARKET
Top 15 countries ranked by sales revenues (2015, in million €)1 USA

18,938

2 UK

4,121

3 Australia

4,059

4 Canada

3,000

5 Japan

2,682

6 Germany

2,004

7

France

1,000

8

Switzerland

621

9

Ireland600

10

New Zealand423

11 Belgium

161

12 Brazil

141

13 Austria

114

14 Russia

102

15 Poland

83

The global Direct Recruitment
market amounted to €36.8 billion
in 2015, with the USA dominatingin terms of country shares (50%)
followed by the UK (11%) andAustralia (11%)

WEC Economic Report 2017

13

of

€2.95
billionCovers careertransition
and talentmanagement
activities at
global level

THE CAREER MANAGEMENT MARKET
Business drivers for providing outplacement

Under what circumstancesmight a company decide to use
outplacement services?

69%
68%

71%
59%

53%

Restructuring

43%

48%

Division/plant closings

36%
31%
40%

45%
37%

Poor company performance
Poor individual performance

43%

50%

Mergers & Acquisistions
Leadership change

60%

35%

35%

34%

33%

36%

32%

GlobalAmericas

Europe

30%

39%
25%
Asia PacificSource: Right Management – Why organisations rely on outplacement – 2016

14

WEC Economic Report 2017

€
b

(sa

f

€2.95
billionGlobalmarket sizeofales revenues)€3.3
billion

THE RPO MARKET(sales revenues)

2015 RPO market size – Global & Regions (€ billions)
The global market size for Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) is estimated at€3.3 billion for 2015. North America dominates the market (44% of market share),followed by the EMEA region (31%) and Asia Pacific (22%).

North America
44%

EMEA
31%

APAC
22%

LATAM
3%

Source: Staffing Industry Analysts - Annual 2015 average exchange rate used between $ and € = 0.9017
WEC Economic Report 201715

Globalmarket size of€95 billion(sales revenues)

THE MSP MARKETMSP market size – Global & Regions (€ billions)
The global market size for Managed Services Provision (MSP) isestimated at €95 billion for 2015 and grew by 13% compared to 2014.
North America continues to dominate the market (59% of market
share), followed by Europe (34%).

95 bn

Global85 bn

 2014
 2015

54 bn
52 bn

North
America

32 bn
26 bn

Europe9 bn
7 bn

Rest ofthe world

Source: Staffing Industry Analysts - Annual 2015 average exchange rate used between $ and € = 0.9017

16

WEC Economic Report 2017

ENABLING
WORK

1- Enabling Work
Each year, around 50 million people access the labour market
thanks to an employment agency (43 million of whom via agencywork). On average, 17% of them are students working while
studying and 81% of agency workers are satisfied with their work(with 34% being very satisfied). In terms of penetration rate, agency
work accounts for 1.7% of the global working population. Witha global turnover amounting to €417 billion and 1.5 million HR
consultants, the industry generates an important economic added
value to society.

50 million people

with €417 bn

access the labour market
thanks to an employment
agency each year

global turnover,the industry generates
an important economic
added value to society

81% of agency workers
are satisfied with
their work (with
34% being very satisfied)

WEC Economic Report 2017

17

92%

CREATE
MORE WORKOPPORTUNITIES

Not adopting flexi staffing does not necessarily create new permanent jobs

50%

In India, agency work creates
jobs that would not otherwise
exist : 92% of companies would
not hire permanent jobs if agency
work was not available. 83% ofcompanies would opt for external/
internal flexibility solutions rather
than recruiting directly.

would not hire permanent jobs if
agency work was not available

External flexbility solution
33%

Internal flexibility solution

9%

Be selective in undertaking projects
8%

Hire permanent workers

Source: ISF Report 2016, Turning available work into jobs Work, outsourcing, overtime, reskilling, transfers, etc.

18

WEC Economic Report 2017

only of agency workers get backto unemployment after temping

ENABLING
WORK

25%

PROVIDE A
STEPPING STONE

Situation before and after working as an agency worker

2%

14%

65%

20%

24%

39%

59%

23%

0%

25%

5%

16%

30%

47%

5%

15%

15%

51%

21%

4%

21%

40%

25%

25%

30%

22%

Fixed term

25%

35%

12%

8%

1%

16%

40%

40%

34%

37%

Open ended

25%

30%

30%

8%

12%

23%

20%

—

25%

5%

52%

38%

41%

(12 months later)

AFTER

Unemployed
Agency Work

While 50% of agency workers were
unemployed or inactive before
temping, only 25% of them getback to unemployment 12 months
later

Average: 25%

AU

AT

BR

CZ

FR

DE

GR

NL

NZ

NO

SE

CH

US

BEFORE

Average inactive: 12%}

Together: 50%

Average unemployed: 38%

Unemployed

12%

41%

80%

25%

52%

49%

63%

23%

20%

40%

33%

23%

39%

Inactive

10%

19%

25%

5%

17%

20%

6%

12%

na

2%

17%

2%

7%

WEC Economic Report 2017

19

49%

PROVIDE A
STEPPING STONE
Opportunity to get a permanentcontract is main reason to workthrough agency work (USA)
Note: multiple responses allowed. Reasons
with <10% excluded from graph.

Find it’s a way to geta permanent job

Reasons for choosing agency work49%

It’s a way to get a permanent job
40% Was unable to find a permanent job
28%

To obtain work experience24%

To improve skills

22%

Flexible hours / schedule

20% Between permanent jobs
16%

Supplement household income
12%

To obtain training

11%

Family or personal obligations

10% Choice of assignments to select from
10% Recently moved to town

Source: American Staffing Association, 2014 Staffing Employee Survey

20

WEC Economic Report 2017

are satisfied with
their work

ENABLING
WORK

81%

DELIVERQUALITY AND
MEANINGFULWORKSatisfaction of agency workers with their work

On average, 81% of agency
workers are satisfied with theirwork (with 34% being very satisfied)

31%

46%
17%

43%

41%
33%

18%

Note: USA: categories are: “somewhat
satisfied (18%) + very satisfied (33%)” and“extremely satisfied”

39%
Satisfied
Very satisfied

52%

49%

48%

57%
43%

Norway(2015)

Sweden(2015)

36%

Belgium Colombia Denmark(2014)(2013)(2015)

Finland(2012)

France(2015)

51%

45%

USA
(2014)

Source: the World Employment Confederation national federation members
WEC Economic Report 2017

21

68%

DELIVERQUALITY AND
MEANINGFULWORKIn Norway, agency workers are
satisfied with most of their working
conditions

are satisfied with theirworking conditions

Satisfaction of agency workers with their working conditions (Norway)
1% 2%
6%
11%

3%
8%
10%

45%

41%

35%

38%

35%

The job conforms to my
expectations.

The client gave me an adequate
induction into the work.

The work tasks spur me on to do
my best.

Note: n=2137

2% 6%
9%
15%

38%

12%

6%

4%

15%

40%

7%

10%

17%

19%

16%
16%

33%
27%

30%

26%

My work tasks offer me sufficient
challenges.

My work tasks match myprofessional background.

 Very applicable Fairly applicable Neither applicable nor not applicable Not very applicable Not applicable Don’t know

17%
I believe I am paid at least the same as
the client’s own employees who havethe same experience and training.

Source: NHO - 2016

22

WEC Economic Report 2017

would recommend
agency work

ENABLING
WORK

75%

DELIVERQUALITY AND
MEANINGFUL
WORKAgency workers would recommend agency work to friends and relatives

On average, 75% of agency
workers would recommend
agency work to friends andrelatives
63%

68%

79%
88%

17%
18%
6%
15%
Denmark(2015)

Yes
No

11%
1%
France(2016)

20%
Norway(2015)

14%

Don't know

Sweden(2015)WEC Economic Report 2017

23

53%

JP

3%
16%

5%
15%

11%
15%

15%
20%

30%
61%

40%

30%
59%

33%
51%

24%

33%

Medium-term(1-3 months)
Long-term(>3 months

CZ BR AU AT MX ZA RO USA RU UK NZ HU DE

100%

100%

81%

80%

74%

65%

57%

47%

60%

12%
36%

34%

35%

Short-term(< 1month)

24%
50%

52%
43%
25%

60%
12%

ES

25%

47%
8%

19%
1% 2%
LU

9%

11%

19%

16%

17%

40%

73%
97%

29%

23%

15%

Average length of assignment

41%

DELIVERQUALITY AND
MEANINGFUL
WORK

On average, 53% of assignments
are longer than 3 months

EE GR CO CN

Source: National federations of World Employment Confederation

24

WEC Economic Report 2017

In Norway, 46% of agency
workers got a job within 1 week

ENABLING
WORK

46%

How fast did you get an assignment through the employment agency? (Norway)

21%

Within a week
18%

Within three days
9%

16%

15%

Within a month

Within two weeks

The same day I got in touchWithin two months

8%
6%

IMPROVEACCESS TO &TRANSPARENCY
OF LABOUR
MARKET

After more than two months
6%

Don’t know

Source: NHO - 2016
WEC Economic Report 2017

25

16%

IMPROVEACCESS TO &TRANSPARENCY
OF LABOUR
MARKET
Employment agencies are second
best channel to find work for job
seekers (France), ahead of public
employment services

26

WEC Economic Report 2017

trust best employment
agencies to find a job

As a jobseeker, who would you trust best to find a job? (France)

44%

Friends or relatives
16%

Private employment agencies
12%
11%

OthersJob boards
10%

Public employment services
6%

On-line job vacancies

2- Enabling Adaptation
ENABLING
ADAPTATION

In a changing world of work, the employment industry supports
over 5 million companies each year to adapt to an increasingly
volatile environment. On the workers’ side, 62% of agency workers
in the USA agree that they developed new skills or improved theirskills while temping. In France, 90% of agency workers say temping
is useful to acquire professional experience and 78% to get trained.

US

FR

FR

62% of agency workers

90% of agency
workers say temping
is useful to acquire

78% of agency workers

developed new skills or

improved their skills
while temping

professional
experience

say temping is useful to

get trained

WEC Economic Report 201727

Over 16different HR services are provided by
the World Employment Confederation
members

DELIVER
DIVERSIFIEDWORKFORCE
SOLUTIONSMembers of the World
Employment Confederation
represent a large range of HR
services, allowing to provide fortaylor-made solutions to people
and companies

Services provided by the members of the World Employment Confederation

Agency work100%

Direct recruitment

73%

Career management

35%

RPO

31%

MSP

23%

VMS

23%

Payrolling

35%

Project sourcing

23%

HR consultancy

38%

Training

31%

Outsourcing

35%

Self-employment

12%

Online work platforms

8%

Personal services

19%

Welfare-to-work

19%

Other

19%

Source: National federations of World Employment Confederation

28

WEC Economic Report 2017

62%of US agency workers say agency work
made them more employable

IMPROVEEMPLOYABILITYBY UPSKILLING

What were the main benefits of using agency work? (USA)62%

I developed new or improved work skills
59%

It helped strengthen my resume
I received on-the-job experience49%

It helped me get my foot in the door for a permanent job
38%

I gained self-confidence
35%

I developed better work habits

62% of US agency workers say
agency work made them more
employable

ENABLING
ADAPTATION

59%

Note: multiple responses allowed

I don’t feel it made me more employable 11%
Other

5%

Source: American Staffing Association, 2014 Staffing Employee Survey
WEC Economic Report 2017

29

90%

IMPROVEEMPLOYABILITYBY UPSKILLING
90% of agency workers say
temping is useful to acquire
professional experience and 78%
to get trained (France)

to acquire professional
experience78%

to get trained

Why agency workers say temping is useful (France)

Get apermanentor fixed-term
contract

26%

Fund studies

34%

Learn different
skillsGet trained

42%

43%

Acquireprofessional
experience

57%

37%
36%
Very useful

35%
36%
25%

33%

12%

Fairly usefulNot very useful

13%
10%
2%

30

WEC Economic Report 2017

5%

14%

14%

5%

5%

3%

3%

6%
2%
2%

Not at all usefulDon’t know

600.000€604+ million invested byagency workers trained via bipartite funds
in 6 European countries in 2015

the employment industry on training
agency workers in 2015

IMPROVEEMPLOYABILITYBY UPSKILLING

Budget spent on training agency workers via bipartite funds - 2015

 Number of workers trained via AW bipartite training fund Budget of bipartite training funds (€ million)€ 30 mio

8,652€ 30 mio€ 340 mio

7,516

7,516

€ 1,3 mio
225,000

Austria

Belgium

FranceAustria€ 2,5 mio

€ 220 mio
224,000

2,210
1 mio €
100,118

Italy

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Source: National federations of World Employment Confederation
WEC Economic Report 201731

ENABLING
ADAPTATION

Note: these figures do not comprise numberof agency workers directly trained bycompanies

Construction

Services

Public Administration

3%

34%

8%

36%

20%

7%
32%

Services
Construction

Agriculture

34%

24%

15%

Manufacturing

20%

28%

37%

29%
6%

20%
3%

2%

PublicAdministration

7%

1%
1%

2%
19%
21%

20%

59%

58%

26%
14%

Other

24%

22%
38%

10%

1% 3%

3%
57%

59%

60%

13%

11%
27%

25%
1%

47%

8%
42%

15%
11%
3%

5%
20%

24%

3%

22%

1%

13%

11%
19%

23%
38%

65%
8%
5%

17%

29%

40%

44%

70%

39%

16%

2%

16%

1%
83%

46%

36%
18%
5%

2%
57%

25%

5%

15%

5%
30%

20%

1%

10%

70%
1%

39%
14%

27%

15%
38%

30%

4%

10% 2%
18%
57%

13%

53%

55%

Note: In the UK, a small portion of theagency workers listed in the Public
Administration (notably in the Healthcare &Education sectors) are active in the private
sector10%

2% 9%Sectoral distribution of agency workers

7% 6% 2% 14%

Serving almost every economic
segments, the employment
industry facilitates workers’
transitions from one sector toanother

Manufacturing

47%

FACILITATEWORK
TRANSITION &MOBILITY

Agriculture

AR AT BE BR CL CZ EE FR DE GR HU JP LU MX NL NO PL RO RU ZA ES SE CH UK

Source: National federations of World Employment Confederation & Offices for National Statistics

32

WEC Economic Report 2017

16,442
In Belgium, outplacement services
supported 16,442 persons in transition

75%of them being aged 45+

Outplacement following collective dismissals
Outplacement following individual dismissals

15,000ENABLING
ADAPTATIONFACILITATEWORK
TRANSITION &MOBILITYIn Belgium, outplacement services are experiencing a rise again

Outplacement services
accompany 3 million people
finding a new job (global)

10,0005,000

0'89 '90 '91 '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15

Source: Federgon – Annual Report 2016
WEC Economic Report 201733

Average levelof skills

Medium

48%

Low

24%

15%
16%

Medium

20%

High

24%

69%

60%

49%

43%

40%

30%

24%

12%

39%

AR GR ES

Low

23%

65%
20%

EE NO ZA RO SE

40%

59%
34%

34%

62%
32%

60%
20%

50%

60%
20%

CZ

46%

60%
16%

10%

38%
9%

2%

20%

81%
12%

72%
81%
12%

LT

60%
10%

IE

50%

IN

67%

CH DE AU NZ

20%

27%

34%

20%

27%

7%

6%

20%

30%

15%

20%

20%

20%

7%

7%
30%

40%
53%

The employment industry is able
to source and match very different
levels of skills, depending on theneeds expressed by companies.

High

Skills required by job executed

31%

FACILITATEWORK
TRANSITION &MOBILITY27%

BR UK CN HU RU

Source: National federations of World Employment Confederation

34

WEC Economic Report 2017

Evolution of number of hours worked by agency workers in Europe (year-on-year) versus
evolution of GDP volume EU28

Y-o-y Evolution of AW Hours Worked - Europe
Y-o-y Evolution of GDP volume - EU28

6,0%

30,0%

4,5%

22,5%

3,0%

15,0%

1,5%

7,5%

0

0

Q3 16

Q1 16

Q2 16

Q3 15

Q4 15

Q1 15

Q2 15

Q3 14

Q4 14

Q1 14

Q2 14

Q3 13

Q4 13

Q1 13

Q2 13

Q3 12

Q4 12

Q1 12

Q2 12

Q3 11

Q4 11

Q1 11

Q2 11

Q3 10

Q4 10

Q1 10

Q2 10

Q3 09

-30,0%
Q4 09

-6,0%
Q1 09

-22,5%

Q2 09

-4,5%

Q3 08

-15,0%

Q4 08

-3,0%

Q1 08

-7,5%

Q2 08

-1,5%

The employment industry reduces
the time lag between recovery
and job creation: there is a close
correlation between the evolutionof number of hours worked andthe evolution of GDP (while it
usually takes 3 to 6 months for theoverall employment rate to adapt
to the economic fluctuations)

Source: National federations of World Employment Confederation
WEC Economic Report 201735

ENABLING
ADAPTATIONADAPTWORKFORCE TO
PRODUCTION
NEEDS

84%

ADAPT
WORKFORCE TO
PRODUCTION
NEEDS
1 Flexi staffing allows a business to managetransient manpower demand / supply
fluctuations due to business cyclicality,
and/or temporary absence of regular
employees
2 Costs associated with payroll processing
and administration, payment of benefits,
etc. can be transferred to the flexi staffing
agency3 Employers can test flexi workers on thejob for their skills and temperament, andtop performers can later be absorbed into
the regular payroll
4 Utilisation of flexi staff reduces search andrecruitment time as well as cost
5 In an environment of economic
uncertainty coupled with rigid labourlaws, businesses are reluctant to expand
regular payroll before being certain aboutbusiness growth
6 Enables businesses to focus on theircore activities, while outsourcing support
services
7 Easy availability of un-skilled flexi workers
has encouraged many businesses tofollow just-in-time flexi hiring

36

WEC Economic Report 2017of German companies hire agency
workers to adapt production capacity
at short notice63%

of Indian companies use agency
work for greater flexibility inworkforce planning

Reasons that are “Important to very important” for companies to hire agency workers
Germany
84% Flexibility; short notice adaptation of capacity
73%

Availability of workers

43%

Trying out workers

34%

Labour costs of hiring

21%

Bureaucracy involved in hiring staff

India
63% Flexibility in manpower planning 1
49% Compliance efficiency 2
41% Uninterrupted hiring 4
39% Enable focus on core business 6
34% Try out potential hires 3
20%

Complex layout laws 5

17%

Just in time availability 7

Source: Zeitarbeit in Deutschland –Treiber für Flexibilität und Wachstum, IW Consult GmbH, 2011
Source: based on the responses of senior HR officials of select Rg 5 billion plus companies from 15 different sectors

3- Enabling Security
On average, before entering into agency work, 33% of workers
were unemployed, while afterwards only 21% went back tounemployment. Similarly, 43% of people starting agency work were
employed before, while 71% remain in employment afterwards.
From the business side, 50% of UK companies recognise thatagency work is important to secure short term access to key
strategic skills. Companies using innovative workforce solutions
such as RPO or MSP are able to reduce hiring costs by 38%.

ENABLING
SECURITY

33% of workers were
unemployed before
agency work, while

43% of people starting
agency work were
employed before,

Using innovative
workforce solutions
such as RPO or MSP

only 21%went back tounemployment

while 71%
remain in
employment.

reduces hiringcosts by 38%

WEC Economic Report 201737

DELIVERPORTABLE
RIGHTS
The employment industry has
developed innovative solutions to
implement portable & transferablesocial rights via bipartite sectoral
funds

Bipartite funds in European countries offer extra social protection to agency workers

Socialbenefits

AT

BE

FR

IT

LU

NL

CH

38

WEC Economic Report 2017

Training

Healthcare
Schemes(complimentary)

Health &Safety at work

Inclusion &coaching

Pension(third pillar)268,000€22 million

70,000information requests
managedservices delivered

invested for agency
workers

DELIVERPORTABLE
RIGHTS

Range of services delivered by Fastt (French social bipartite fund)

The French social fund forthe agency work sector (Fastt)delivered 70,000 services in favourof agency workers in 2015 bydesigning innovative solutions

Transportation

CreditChild care

Healthinsurance

Holidays

SocialassistanceTemporaryaccomodation

ENABLING
SECURITY

Access to
housing

WEC Economic Report 201739

SECURE ACCESSTO TALENTS

How would you say that agency workers are for your organisation in terms of the following?

For 50% of UK companies, agency
work is important to providing
short term access to key strategic
skills. This rose to 57% amongst
the largest companies (250+
employees).
All who recruite agency workers (n=136)

Responses
stating the factor
is quite or very
important

67%
47%

63%
51%

50%

49%
35%

Peaks indemandResponding Fast-changing
to growth organisational
requirements

Covering
leaves orabsences

Reducing
costsManaging
uncertainty

Providingshort term
access to key
strategic skills

Source: REC Jobs Outlook report – a2016

40

WEC Economic Report 2017

39%

of Belgians see agency work as a
stepping stone to permanent work

Top 3 reasons for choosing agency work
Belgium (2016)

Norway (2015)1

As a stepping stone to permanent work (39%)

1

Agency work is a good entry door to working life (40%)

2

To earn an additional income (10%)

2Work as agency worker is easier to get than other job (37%)

3

To gain useful working experience (6%)

3Want to see different workplaces and gain all-round work
experience (23%)

France (2015)

Sweden (2015)

1

Agency work allowed me to find work quickly (52%)

1

The agency offered an interesting assignment (38%)

2

Couldn’t find a permanent job (37%)

2

I want to see different workplaces and acquire different
experiences (33%)

3

Hope to get a permanent job via agency work (22%)

3Work as agency worker is easier to get than other job (32%)

UK (2014)

1

It is a stepping stone to a permanent job (49%)

1

I could not find permanent work (53%)

2

Was unable to find a permanent job (40%)

2

To find work quickly (43%)

3

To obtain work experience (28%)

3

To earn money quickly (26%)

The employment industry supports
workers in many different ways:
quick access to work but also
possibility to gain work experience.

ENABLING
SECURITY

USA (2014)

ACT AS CAREER
AGENT

Denmark (2016):

1

It is a stepping stone to a permanent job (25%)

2Work as agency worker is easier to get than other job (17%)

3

To gain more work experience (12%)

Source: National federations of World Employment Confederation
WEC Economic Report 201741

INCREASE
BUSINESSCOMPETITIVENESS

How do the best-in-class see agency and temporary workers?

Best-in-class

Most efficient organisations rely toa greater extend on agency andtemporary workers to conduct
their business

Best-in-class
All others

All others

n=192

90%

73%

23%
10%

Vital component of our business:
we rely heavily on contingent workers or amoderately significant component of our business

Slightly significant component of ourbusiness or do not utlise contingent
labor on a significant scale

Source: Aberdeen Group42

WEC Economic Report 2017

71%

Most efficient organisations are more
likely to use a Managed Services Provider

INCREASE
BUSINESSCOMPETITIVENESS

Solutions to manage temporary and agency workers

Most efficient organisations are
71% more likely to use a Managed
Services Provider (36% vs 21%)
to support the management ofagency and temporary workers

21%
21%
23%

Vendor Managed
System (VMS)

36%

Managed Services
Provider (MSP)32%

ENABLING
SECURITY42%

All others

Best-in-class

Spend analysis
solutions

Source: Aberdeen Group, April 2016
WEC Economic Report 2017

43

38%

INCREASE
BUSINESSCOMPETITIVENESS

costs reductions by usinga RPO provider

Year-over-year improvement (reduction)

Companies that use RPO

RPO usage has a big impact on HR
KPIs. Companies that invest in an
RPO provider are able to reducehiring costs by 38%

All others

3.3%

Companies that use RPO

2.4%
All others

1.8%

Cost per hire

Time to hire

-0.4%

Source: Aberdeen Group, May 201644

WEC Economic Report 2017

4- Enabling Prosperity
By reducing frictional unemployment, the industry contributes topublic budgets, saving governments the cost of unemployment
benefits. In addition, the provision of flexible workforce solutions
leads to a reduction of undeclared work, increasing social
charges and corporate tax being paid. Finally, the industry drives
inclusiveness and participation to the labour market: 34% of agency
workers are younger than 25 years old and 44% are women.

the provision of flexible
workforce solutions leads toof undeclared work,social charges andcorporate tax being paid

34% of agency workers
are younger than
25 years old

44% of agency workers
are women

45

ENABLING
PROSPERITYWEC Economic Report 2017

REDUCE
UNDECLAREDWORK &UNEMPLOYMENT

Evolution of number of hours worked by agency workers in Europe (year-on-year) versus average
EU 28 Unemployment change (year-on-year)

Evolution of AW hours worked - Europe
Y-O-Y Change in unemployment (EU 28)

46

WEC Economic Report 2017

Q3 20

Q1 20

Q2 20

Q3 19

Q4 19

Q1 19

Q2 19

Q3 18

Q4 18

Q1 18

Q2 18

Q3 17

Q4 17

Q1 17

Q2 17

Q3 16

Q4 16

Q1 16

Q2 16

Q3 15

Q4 15

Q1 15

Q2 15

Q3 14

Q4 14

Q1 14

Q2 14

Q3 13

Q4 13

-25%
Q1 13

25%
Q2 13

5%

Q3 12

5%-

Q4 12

35%

Q1 12

35%

Q2 12

Agency work contributes toreduce frictional unemployment by
ensuring a better and faster match
between supply and demand ofwork

REDUCING
UNDECLAREDWORK &UNEMPLOYMENTStatewise agency work penetration (% of workforce)States with higher agency work penetration than national average of 0.51% in 2015
1.67%

Haryana

0.94%

2.79% Delhi

Karnataka

0.87%

Maharashtra

0.58%

Gujarat0.58%

Tamil Nadu

2.59%
Averageunemployment
Rate

India : Low average
unemployment rate of 2.59%
in states with agency work
penetration higher than national
average of 0.51%
1

0.89%

Average flexi
workforce
penetration rate

Refers to undivided Andhra Pradesh

States with lower agency work penetration than national average of 0.51% in 2015
Andhra Pradesh

0.38%

0.36%

Rajasthan

0.36%

Utar Pradesh

0.35%West Bengal

0.30%

Madhya Pradesh

4.74%
Averageunemployment
Rate

Source: Nielsen estimates using N550 and Ministry of Labour data
WEC Economic Report 201747

ENABLING
PROSPERITY

0.35%

Average flexi
workforce
penetration rate

INCREASEINCLUSIVENESSAND DIVERSITY
People are looking for different
types of jobs and individualizedworking conditions, reflecting
the end of the one-size-fits-all
approach.

Type of work sought (US)75%

Full-time
53%

Part-time
36%

Temporary or Contract

Freelance or Independent Contractor

31%

31%

Seasonal

The employment industry provides
a full range of arrangements tomeet this diversity of expectations.

48

WEC Economic Report 2017

Source: American Staffing Association Workforce Monitor TM, an online survey conducted Dec. 22-28, 2015, among 1,008 U.S. adult job
seekers, by Harris Poll

Averagegender split

56%

Male

44%

Female

INCREASE
INCLUSIVENESSAND DIVERSITY

Age of agency workers

14%

15%

27%

28%

The employment industry
offers work solutions to arange of people and increases
inclusiveness, especially for young
people and women.

35%> 45 years old

At global level, 44% of agency
workers are women and 31% areunder the age of 25.

31 - 45 years old
32%

26%

26%

26 - 30 years old
21 - 25 years old< 21 years old

16%

20%

19%

13%

12%

Europe

World

13%
4%

WEC Economic Report 201749

ENABLING
PROSPERITY

USA

17%

INCREASE WORKINCOMESMany students use agency work tofund their studies

Global percentage of agency
workers as students% of agency workers as students
40%

New Zealand27%

Finland20%

Mexico19%

Austria

19%

Norway18%

Czech Republic

17%

Sweden16%

Greece15%

France15%

Russia14%

Belgium

14%

Switzerland
12%

Romania7%
3%

50

WEC Economic Report 2017

Denmark
Australia

$147 billion
sales revenues of the employment
industry (2015)

ENRICH GDP BY
SALES REVENUES

Sales (Billions of U.S. Dollars) - Annual Totals for Staffing and Recruiting Industry

$139

$147

10%

Search andPlacement

10%

14%

14%

$100

Temporary andContract

In the USA, sales revenues of theemployment industry has neverbeen so high, reaching $147 billion
in 2015, contributing to reducing
unemployment and creating work
opportunities that would not exist
otherwise

2011

2012

2013

86%

87%

87%

2008

88%

2007

90%

86%

2006

90%

10%

85%

2005

90%

86%

2003

88%

90%

2002

2004

2009

2010

2014

2015

Source: American Staffing, Staffing Industry Analysts Inc., U.S. Department of Commerce
WEC Economic Report 201751

ENABLING
PROSPERITY

88%

89%

10%

12%

11%

12%

15%

$81

$91
$79

12%

$114

$102

$78

$126

$112

13%

$111

13%

$116

14%

$132

ENRICH GDP
BY TAXES AND
SOCIAL CHARGES
By employing millions of workers,
the employment industry
contributes significantly to
public budgets by paying social
charges and corporate taxes. By
reducing levels of unemployment,
the industry contributes toreduce public spendings on
unemployment allowances

Contributions of the employment industry to the public budget (France & the UK)€ 260 million of local taxes (contributionéconomique territoriale)€ 4,7 billion of social security contributions(companies)€ 170 million of
corporate tax€ 3 billion of social security contributions(employees)

FranceUK
Economic added-value of £35 billion
in 2015/2016

76% of value added to the UK economy
by the industry was derived from temporary
employment activities.

52

WEC Economic Report 2017

Employment industry contributes
more to the UK economy thanadvertising, arts and recreation, andthe food and beverage industry

Annexes
GLOSSARY OF USED TERMS AND ACRONYMS
Agency work
Agency Work is a triangular employment
relationship, defined in ILO Convention 181 as:"Services consisting of employing workers with aview to making them available to a third party, who
may be a natural or legal person ("user enterprise")which assigns their tasks and supervises theexecution of these tasks“. It can be named as
Dispatched Labour in Asia, Labor Hire in Africa or
Temporary Staffing in the USA.
Career management
Main service segments are individual
outplacement services, executive outplacement
services, group outplacement services andother employment transition services. In thesesegments, outplacement services companies
provide a range of employment and career
services. These include resume writing, interview
skills, job search strategies, coaching and career
guidance. Employers generally pay all of the costs
associated with these services.
Daily average number of agency workers (FTE)
Total number of hours worked by all agency
workers in a country over a period of one year
divided by the average number of hours worked
over a period of one year by a worker with a fulltime job with an open-ended contract.

Direct Recruitment
Services for matching offers of and applications
for employment, without the private employment
agency becoming a party to the employment
relationships which may arise therefrom (Source:
ILO Convention 181), including executive search &selection.
Managed Services Provision (MSP)
MSP is a service whereby a company takes
on primary responsibility for managing anorganization’s contingent workforce program.
Typical responsibilities of an MSP include overall
program management, reporting and tracking,supplier selection and management, order
distribution and often consolidated billing. The
vast majority of MSPs also provide their clientswith a vendor management system (VMS) and may
have a physical presence on the client’s site. An
MSP may or may not be independent of a staffing
supplier.
Penetration rate
Daily average number of agency workers [infull-time equivalents] divided by the working
population [as defined by the ILO as follows:“The employed comprise all persons of working
age who during a specified brief period, suchas one week or one day, were in the following

categories: a) paid employment (whether atwork or with a job but not at work); or b) selfemployment (whether at work or with anenterprise but not at work).“
Private employment services / Employment
industry
Agency work is usually one of several other HR
services provided by recruitment and employment
agencies, along with direct recruitment, career
management, RPO & MSP. The broad range ofthese services are called private employment
services. The employment agency provides aprofessional service to a user company by taking
over (a part of) the recruitment and HR process.
In this sense, private employment services arecomparable to other professional and businessservices such as auditing & accounting,communications & marketing, facilities
management etc.
Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)
A service by a third-party specialist provider,to assume the role of the client’s recruiting
department by owning and managing part or allof its recruitment process and related recruitment
supply chain partner relationships, provide thenecessary skills, activities, tools, technologies, andprocess methodologies.
WEC Economic Report 201753

MEMBERS OF THE WORLD EMPLOYMENTCONFEDERATION (NATIONAL FEDERATIONS)North America

North East Asia

EuropeCanada (CA)Mexico (MX)USA (USA)

China (CN)Japan (JP)South Korea (KR)

Latin America

APAC Southern

Argentina (AR)Brazil (BR)Chile (CL)Colombia (CO)Peru (PE)Australia (AU)India (IN)Indonesia (ID)
New Zealand (NZ)
Philippines (PH)Singapore (SG)Vietnam (VN)

Austria (AT)
Belgium (BE)
Bulgaria (BG)
Croatia (HR)Czech Republic (CZ)
Denmark (DK)
Estonia (EE)
Finland (FI)France (FR)Germany (DE)Greece (GR)
Hungary (HU)
Ireland (IE)
Italy (IT)
Latvia (LV)
Lithuania (LT)
Luxembourg (LU)
Netherlands (NL)
Norway (NO)Poland (PL)Portugal (PT)
Romania (RO)Russia (RU)
Slovakia (SK)Slovenia (SI)Spain (ES)Sweden (SE)Switzerland (CH)
Turkey (TR)UK (UK)

AfricaMorocco (MA)South Africa (ZA)54

WEC Economic Report 2017

MEMBERS OF THE WORLDEMPLOYMENT CONFEDERATION(CORPORATE MEMBERS)

Disclaimer
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must take appropriate steps to verify this information before acting upon it.
Any use of this report or its content, including copying or storing it in whole or inpart, other than for personal, media-related purposes or non-commercial use, isprohibited without the prior permission of the World Employment Confederation.
In any case, the source of the information to be published should be mentioned
as ©World Employment Confederation – Economic Report 2017.
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New Reality of Work