Economic Report2015 Edition(Based on data of 2013/2014)

Table of
CONTENTS

3

Contribution of theemployment andrecruitment industry
to labour markets

Introduction

2
4

44

Agency work as
leading indicatorof the economy

Executive
Summary

38

6

1
The employment& recruitment
industry worldwidee) Outplacementc) Search &selectiona) The industry
as a whole

35
34
32

23

8
2 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report3610b) Agency
workd) Recruitment
Process
Outsourcingf) Online
Recruitment

564e) (life-long)trainingc) Inclusiona) Stepping
stone
47

48

b) Jobquality5253d) Employability

The profiles ofagency workers andtheir assignments

54

66

Ciett National
Federation
Members

About Ciett

Annexes

78
76

74

Satisfaction andmotivation of
agency workers

5

Data gathering /methodology

80

Glossary ofused terms &acronyms

81
82

External
resources

2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 3

INTRODUCTION
Dear reader,2014 has been a year of transitions for the employment
and recruitment industry and its global trade organisation,
CIETT. The 2015 edition of the Economic Report, which
we are proud to present to you, is a living proof of thesechanges.
The employment and recruitment industry is now starting
to recover after the 2008 economic downturn that hit manyof our members. 2013 was a year of growth, which can beseen on country level as well as on the aggregate global
level. Penetration rates, total number of workers and sales
revenue all increased in 2013 compared to 2012. Data from2014, which is only available for selected markets, shows
further improvement. Still, many markets haven’t reachedtheir pre-crisis levels.

4 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

Another change in 2014 was that Ciett members elected
a new board and President, with new strategic priorities.
One of those priorities was to broaden the scope of services
that Ciett represents. After all, a large number of Ciett
members are already offering a range of services including
agency work or staffing, but also search and selection,
outplacement, training or Recruitment Process Outsourcing(RPO). In this economic report, for the first time we also
include data on these other HR services to give a more
complete picture of the employment and recruitment
industry. This allows us to say that in 2013, around the world
a total number of 60.9 million people gained access to thelabour market through a private employment agency (with40.2 million working as an agency worker). This is something
we can and should be proud of.

Not all of these other types of private employment services
are as well organised as agency work. A very importantelement therefore is the issue of definitions. To avoid
confusion when speaking about these new and sometimes
not very well known ways of doing business, we upgraded theglossary that forms part of this report. The fact that some ofthese services are relatively new also has an impact on theavailability of data and its solidity. Unfortunately, our overview
of HR services other than agency work is today patchy andincomplete. Ciett members and the Ciett secretariat arecommitted to improve data gathering in these fields in the
coming years.

We invite you to browse through this publication and get abetter insight into our industry. If you have any questions
about the data or about its implications on labour markets
in your country, please do not hesitate to contact the Ciettsecretariat (info@ciett.org), who will be happy to help.
Sincerely,
Annemarie Muntz, Ciett President
Denis Pennel, Ciett Managing Director

2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 5

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY&EMPLOYMENTRECRUITMENT
INDUSTRY IN

2013

A total number of

60.9 MILLION WORKERS
gained access to the labour
market through theemployment & recruitment
industry worldwide
40.2 IN AGENCY WORK,
9.6 GROWTH COMPARED TO 2012%

6 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

PENETRATION RATES AGENCY WORK:

2.1%

2.0%

1.7%

1.6%

USA

JAPAN

EUROPEWORLD

12 MILLION

FTE WORKING IN AGENCY WORK (5,2% GROWTH)

260,000 Agencies
Internal Staff
1.66 million(ALL EMPLOYMENT SERVICES)GLOBAL ANNUAL
SALES REVENUE:AGENCY WORK:€ 282 bn
(68%)

Entireemployment& recruitment
industry:€ 415 bn

MARKET SHARE:
US
EU

US

€ 25 billion
RPO€ 81 billion
Other

22.9%

CN

18.0%

JP

13.4%

EUR

28.5%

MARKET SHARE BY SALES REVENUE (ALL EMPLOYMENT SERVICES)€ 26 billion

Search & selection

CN
JP

US
EU

JP

US

29.9%

JP

18.8%

EUR

38.2%

MARKET SHARE BY SALES REVENUE (AGENCY WORK)For more information, see chapter 1

2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 7

CHAPTER 1

THE EMPLOYMENT& RECRUITMENT
industry worldwide

8 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report1This chapter outlines the MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS OF THE
EMPLOYMENT AND RECRUITMENT industry in 2013 and for someindicators in 2014.
For the first time, it includes data not only on agency work,
but also on other HR services such as search and selection,
recruitment process outsourcing and outplacement.

60.9

40.2

17.7

1.9

1.2

60.9 MILLION PEOPLE

AGENCYWORKSEARCH &SELECTIONRPOOUTPLACEMENTGAINED ACCESS TO WORK THROUGH
THE EMPLOYMENT & RECRUITMENT
INDUSTRY IN 20132015 Economic Report / Ciett / 9

1

Agency work:

THE EMPLOYMENT & RECRUITMENT
INDUSTRY WORLDWIDE

40.2 MILLIONa) The industry as a wholeworldwide

The biggest market for agency work
is still the USA with 11 million people.
China is close behind with 10.8 million
people, although the nature of agency
work in China is not fully comparable tothat in other countries. Based on 2012
data, Japan is the third biggest market
with 2.4 million individuals.
(1) 2012 data for agency work(2) 2011 data for agency work(3) 2011 estimate for agency work
(4) UK: number is "on any given day"10 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

NORTH AMERICA

21.7%

ASIA/PACIFICEUROPE

Total number of individuals employedthrough agency work on a yearly basis

Over 60,9 million people
gained access to work in 2013
In 2013, 60.9 million people gained
access to the labour market in
one way or another through theemployment & recruitment industry.
In agency work an increase can beseen compared to last year: froma bit more than 36 million people
in 2012 to slightly over 40 million
people in 2013 who worked as anagency worker at some point during
the year. This means an increaseof about 9,6%. In Europe, the total
number of individuals went from 7.9
million to 8.7 million people.

38.1%

34.9%

303,665
11,000,000

8,736,095

450,000CA

RU(2)10,800,000

2,450,854

EUROPE

JP(4)US

15,000

CN

KR(2)

TR
MX
1,674,906

IN(3)595,590

1,300,000CO(1)613,000

75,000300,000

AR

30,000

SG

BR

PE

9,598

462,442475,000

UY(2)71,441

ZA
784,434AU

CL(2)100,000

NZ
Source: Ciett national federations.

4.2%

2.1%

SOUTH AMERICAAFRICA

90,000FI

Europe: total number of individuals employedthrough agency work on a yearly basis
NO

6,000
134,600

126,900

SE
30,000

LV(1)

IE

UK

343,400

CZ
303,000

FR

PL

200,000

DE(4)24,500LU
2,000,000

559,500

838,800

NL
BE

RU(2)

LT (2)

1,155,900
(4)

CH

SK(1)

324,400

49,700AT (2) 211,200
HR

SI (2)

101,500

HU

RO

53,0008,000
77,000422,600

352,000

PT

(2)

ES

303,6657,700

DK700,700
75,700EE

1,300

482,100

10,000

BG
MK
15,000IT12,400GR

TR2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 11

1

Agency work:

THE EMPLOYMENT & RECRUITMENT
INDUSTRY WORLDWIDE

40.2 MILLIONThis year for the first time we collected
data about other types of HR services
than agency work, such as search andselection, outplacement and RPO.
18 countries reported on the numberof individuals recruited in searchand selection activities, leading to a
total of 17.6 million people. In a totalof 7 countries, the employment &recruitment industry outplaced 1.2
million people, and finally in a totalof 4 countries, a total of 1.9 million
people were managed or recruitedunder RPO activities. Countries not
mentioned may still have one or moreof these services being offered on theirmarkets, but have no data available on
the size of those activities.

RPO:

17.7 MILLION

worldwidea) The industry as a whole

Employment andrecruitment industry offersa range of services

Search &selection:

Outplacement:

1.9 MILLION

1.2 MILLION

Total number of individuals employedthrough other HR services on a yearly basis
218,000

TOTAL NUMBER OF INDIVIDUAL WORKERSRECRUITED OR MANAGED THROUGH RPO ACTIVITIESSE

IE
32,000634,608UK

26,040BE
CH
FR

39,400TOTAL NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS OUTPLACED BYPRIVATE EMPLOYMENT SERVICESTOTAL NUMBER OF PLACEMENTS THROUGHRECRUITMENT ACTIVITIES

1,000

CZ
25

98,000800

SALES REVENUE IN MILLION EURO.

HU RO 8,592
BG

137,000
799

MX
2,477,000

15,484,394

10,200

HR
GR

JP(1)

15,000TR

40,000SGBR265,000(1) Japan: the figure for search and selection includes daily workers. If limited to assignment
more than 4 months, it is 449,765. (2012)

AU

UY

1,790,540

50,000NZ
12 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

Source: Ciett national federations.

OPENENDED

75%

SELF
EMPLOYMENT

14%

TEMPORARYEMPLOYMENT11%

AGENCY
WORK

1.7%

Size of evolution of agency work comparedto other forms of employment
80%

This graph shows that in the EU, theshare of various types of employment
such as agency work, freelancing or
open-ended contracts has been moreor less stable for the past two decades,
and is only changing very slowly. So
while companies and workers aredemanding more flexibility, it would bewrong to speak of a surge in flexible
forms of labour at the cost of openended employment, which still forms
about 75% of all employment.

75%
OPEN-ENDED
CONTRACTS eu-15

70%
20%
SELFEMPLOYMENT eu-15

15%

Note: Some categories overlap (some agency
workers might be also included in the category“temporary employment” or “open-ended
contracts”, as defined by Eurostat). The total istherefore above 100%.

10%
TEMPORARYEMPLOYMENT eu-15

AGENCY
WORK

5%

Source: IDEA Consult based on Eurostat (LFS Data) and Ciett data.

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2205

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

eu-15

1996

0%

Europe: Market share ofvarious types of employment
mostly stable2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 13

1

259,529

THE EMPLOYMENT & RECRUITMENT
INDUSTRY WORLDWIDE

agenciesa) The industry as a wholebranches

World: number of private
employment agencies

Private employment services
operate a close-knit network
around the world
In 2013, there were almost 260,000
private employment agencies aroundthe world, offering a full range of
HR services: agency work, search &selection, RPO, outplacement andmore. About 62.5000 of them were
engaged in agency work. In total there
are about 236,000 local branches of
employment and recruitment agencies.
This illustrates how, especially in otherservices than agency work, a numberof agencies operate in-house or online,
without having separate branches.
In these agencies and branches
about 1,66 million internal staff wereavailable to find a job for every person,
and a person for every job.

236,283

CA

800
2,400

20(2)
1,279(1)54,29756,803
270,112

17,34035,020120,000

RU
19,935358,013EUROPE

KR JP

CN

US
MX

1,813 (2)1,983 (4)9,000 (2)100,000
21,800336,750

800
8,249

20,000100,362200,000

IN

595
221
274
CO
2,560 (3)36,982
7,156
313,215PEBR

194 (2)
3,142 (2)78
350
3,680(4)

CL
AR

500

SG
2,621
3,000
13,000

ZA

3,000
6,600
14,500

AU
300
400
4,500

NZ
14 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

Source: Ciett national federations 2013. (1) Ciett national federations 2012. (2) Ciett national federations 2011. (3) Ciett national federations 2010. (4) Ciett national federations 2009 Agencies:
based on figures from 46 countries. Branches: based on figures from 39 countries. Staff: based on figures from 43 countries.

1,656,721
internal staff

1,250
2,500

FI

Europe: number of private
employment agencies
NO

EE

700
700
3,035

SE

IE

807
1,136(1)

1,500
6,900
20,00018,18014,009(1)96,357

NL

UK
767
1,144
8,638

BE

6,500
10,91655,000DE

LU
135

265(4)

PT

1,079
1,200
8,000

ES

FR

CH

1,500
6,900
20,0002,100
3,375(4)102(1)

530
1,280
7,000

DK

250
250
4,000

These people work on any of theservices that our industry offers, be
it agency work, search and selection,
training or other. This means thatprivate employment services have avery widespread network of labour
market specialists covering many
corners of the world. Local branches
ensure a deep knowledge of the local
labour market, while there are many
regional, national and international
networks that help workers gain abroader job perspective.

60

LV
59

PL

1,500
3,200
7,000

CZ
SK

1,048
1,952(2) AT
2,900

SI

220
240

IT
2,503
2,700
11,500

HU
HR

LT

4,540
2,941(2)4,100(4)1,055(1)
194(3)

1,200
1,300
2,723(2)

1,586
1,041

RO

50
18

MK
10

GR

BG
463

375
425
1,500

TR

2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 15

1

THE EMPLOYMENT & RECRUITMENT
INDUSTRY WORLDWIDEGLOBAL ANNUAL

sales revenue:a) The industry as a whole

Turnover mostly stablein 2013
In total, global annual sales revenue
for the entire employment &recruitment industry is 1 415 bn. For
agency work this is 1 282 bn, which
is a slight decline compared to 2012.
This is partly due to methodologicalreasons: in previous years, somerevenue of other HR services was
mistakenly counted as part of agency
work turnover. Overall, most countries
did experience a slight decline or
stable turnover for agency work in
2013.
For other HR services combined
turnover stands at approximately
1 132 bn, with the largest part comingfrom search and selection. This is
however an incomplete picture, as
data collection about these otherservices is still patchy. Countries notincluded in this chart could still have amarket of HR services, but may not beable to provide any data about the sizeof these markets.

415

282

TOTAL
(BILLION €)AGENCY
WORKGlobal annual sales revenue in 2013:agency work
2,252

NO
11,000

1,000

UK

IE

10,894

NL

253

FR

US

17,000

ES
2,075

MX

44

22,300PLDEBE
4,045 LU

84,306EE

SE

32,730

CA

1,899

494

CH

HR

5,400

832

CZ
HU

RO

0.2

59

IT
6,200

52,974

510

57

GR

JP
1,571

IN

857
5,492

BR

PE
494

3,167

859

ZA

AR
UY

13,466AU

563

NZ
16 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

Source: Ciett national federations.

26

25

81

SEARCH &SELECTION

RPO

OTHER
Global annual sales revenue in 2013:
HR services

EE

SE
CA

DK

UK

NL
FR

US

LT
CZ

DE

BE
CH

It is important to note that workers
salaries are included in the turnover ofagency work, making its volume muchbigger than that of other services. That
does not necessarily reflect the value
added through this service.

FI

NO

AT

PL
Note: The “other” category includes forexample training, but the biggest part of thiscategory is taken up by Chinese turnover.
Exact distribution of this turnover accrossdifferent HR services and agency work is
unknown.

HU
RO

HR

CN

JP

GR

MX
CO

SG
BR

PE
ZA
OTHER
OUTSOURCINGSEARCH & SELECTION

AU

NZ
2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 17

1

THE EMPLOYMENT & RECRUITMENT
INDUSTRY WORLDWIDEa) The industry as a whole6%

Permanent
recruitment

6%

10%

11%

86%

85%

86%

90%

90%

89%

90%

89%

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

10%

80

10%

97

11%

15%

88%
2205

11%

79

14%

14%

89%
2004

82 78

91

12%

10%
90%
2003

117 122

12%

110

88%

100

102

111 116 111

2002

120

80 60
40
SEARCH AND PLACEMENTTEMPORARY AND CONTRACT

18 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

work
68% Temporary
agencies

RPO

16%

SALES (BILLIONS US$)ANNUAL TOTALS FOR
STAFFING AND RECRUITING
INDUSTRY

20%

Other

SALES REVENUE SPLIT BY TYPE
OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICE

84%

Agency work is delivering by far thebiggest part of the sales revenue ofthe employment and recruitment
industry. The 68% reported hereis partly distorted by a the “other”
category covering 20% of revenue. This
category includes for example training,but the biggest part of this category
is now taken up by Chinese turnover,coming mostly from “labour dispatch”,
which is close but slightly different toagency work. In the USA, search andplacement generally make up about
10-15% of sales revenue, not counting
RPO or training. It is important to notethat the volume of turnover does notnecessarily reflect the value added bya service, as in agency work also theworkers’ salaries are counted in theturnover, boosting its volume.

Global annual sales revenue

2001

Biggest part of sales
revenue comes from agency
work

20 0

Source: American Staffing Association analysis

Rest of themarket16% Top 3 firms

56%

Firms
4-10

9%

Firms

Gr
ou

M

an

po

Ra

15.0

Of the top 100 companies, 42 areheadquartered in Europe, 40 are US
based, and the other 17 are from therest of the world, according to Staffing
Industry Analysts.

Source: Global 100, The worlds largest staffing & talent engagement firms, Staffing Inustry Analysts.

2.8

Te

2.3

2.0

m

US

ps
t

af

f

pl
e
Pe
o

Ro

be
rt
H

al
f

Se

4.1

lly
Ke

4.3

ys

4.6

G

C
PL

t
Ha

ui
Re
cr

7.9

rv
ic

Al

es

le
gi

s

Gr

ou

p

16.6

Few changes in top 10 firms
The top 10 firms took up about 25%of the total agency work market in2014, which is slightly lower thanlast year when this was about 27,5%.
The top 3 represented 16% of total
annual sales revenue. The top 10
comprises the same companies as
in 2013, only Robert Half and USG
People exchanged position. In the top
10, Allegis was the only company togrow its sales revenue, others showedsimilar or lower results in 2014 as in
2013.

w
er

nd

st

ad

Ad

19.5

Top 10 firms sales revenue in 2014
– billion of 4

p

ec
co

19% 10-100

Note: Staffing Industry Analysts define “staffing”
revenue as revenue generated from the provisionof temporary workers to business clients, as well
as from “place & search” services (direct hire/
permanent placement and retained search.)
They also include revenue from “temp-to-hire”
conversions.

2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 19

1

OTHER HRSERVICESTHE EMPLOYMENT & RECRUITMENT
INDUSTRY WORLDWIDE

turnovera) The industry as a whole

A few big markets accountfor large part of sales
revenue

CN

18.0%

EUR

28.5%

Percentage of global annual sales revenue(all employment services)

These two graphs show thepercentage of global annual sales
revenues by country.
For HR services, the labour dispatch
market in China represents about 18%of the global market, which makes itbigger than Japan or the UK. Brazil
also holds a significant share of the
global market, 7%, due to its large
outsourcing market. In all HR services,
Europe accounts for about 28%. The
top 10 countries account for almost
90% of the total market.

US

22.9%

US

REST OF
WORLD

3.1%

28.4%

CA

22.7%

IN

US

IT

BE
CH
NL

1.1

CN

1.3%

CA
AU

13.3%
JP

CN

IN
FR

JP

DE
BR
BR

17.8

%

UK

3.8%
AU

20 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

Source: Ciett national federations

AGENCY WORK

turnover

US

30%

JP

19%

EUR

38%

Percentage of global annual sales revenue(Agency work)

REST OF
WORLD

3.8

%

36.6

US

%

CA

18.5%

29.4%

1.4

BE
BR

US
CH

JP
JP

For agency work, the share percountry is comparable to last year,with minor changes. The USA, Japanand the UK still make up the top
three markets, representing 60% of
the global market. Their share hasgone up slightly from 56% in 2012.
All European countries combined
represent 38% of the global market.
The top 10 countries account for about
91% of the total annual sales revenue.
This could mean that there are quite a
lot of countries that still have growthpotential.

IT
NL

CA
AU

BR

FR

UK
DE

4.7%
AU

2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 21

1

THE EMPLOYMENT & RECRUITMENT
INDUSTRY WORLDWIDE

SPECIFIC
HR
services

In the following pages we will dive deeper into several specific HR
services that are offered by the employment and recruitment industry.
Not all Ciett members engage in all HR services, and even if they do,data collection may not be up to the same standards for all types of
HR services. Data collection for agency work is solid and provides agood overview of agency work around the world. For other services
the data provided is more illustrative, and cannot be considered
complete.

22 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report6.4
growth% Y-O-Yb) Agency work

IN JULY 2014

USA: US Staffing Employment Index(Set at 100 on 6/12/2006)

USA: Market continues
steady growth in 2014
The US staffing index is an indicatorof the growth of the US market. In
October 2014 for the first time theindex reached pre-crisis levels. In theweek of 10-16 November 2014 theindex hit 105,84, the highest value eversince the index’ inception in 2006. Yearon year growth is positive, but modest,with a maximum of 6.4% y-o-y growthin July 2014.

110
105
100
95
90
85
80
75
70
65

Source: American Staffing Association, ASA Staffing index

Oct. 2014

July 2014

April 2014

Oct. 2013

Jan. 2014

July 2013

April 2013

Oct. 2012

Jan. 2013

July 2012

April 2012

Oct. 2011

Jan. 2012

July 2011

April 2011

Oct. 2010

Jan. 2011

July 2010

April 2010

Oct. 2009

Jan. 2010

July 2009

April 2009

Oct. 2008

Jan. 2009

July 2008

April 2008

Oct. 2007

Jan. 2008

July 2007

April 2007

Oct. 2006

Jan. 2007

July 2006

60

2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 23

1

THE EMPLOYMENT & RECRUITMENT
INDUSTRY WORLDWIDEb) Agency work

UK: Temporary staff billings Report on Jobs index

UK: Constant and steady
growthThis index shows that the UK market is
growing at a steady pace at least since
the summer of 2013, after a period ofvery low growth or decline since 2011.
As the UK represents about 11% of theworld market and 30% of the European
market this is good news, not only
for the employment & recruitment
industry, but of course also for theworkers who gain access to a job andthe companies looking for the righttalent.
Note: An index reading above 50 signals a higher
number of placements/billings than the previous
month. Readings below 50 signal a decline
compared with the previous month.

65

60

55

50

45

24 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

Oct. 2014

July 2014

April 2014

Jan. 2014

Oct. 2013

July 2013

April 2013

Jan. 2013

Oct. 2012

July 2012

April 2012

Jan. 2012

Oct. 2011

July 2011

April 2011

Jan. 201140

Source: REC/KPMG/Markit: Report on Jobs

26

% Y-O-Y growth
IN Q3 2013

Japan: Number of agency workers
x 10.000 (FTE)Japan: Market hits record
high since 2008
The absolute number of agency
workers in Japan has reached
1.1 million in Q3 of 2013, a growthof 26% compared to Q3 2012. Q1of 2013 showed a record high with
1.24 million since Q4 of 2008. The
downturn between 2008 and 2013 wascaused by the economic crisis as well
as restrictive regulation on the use of
dispatched (agency) workers. Basedon the number of agency workers(in 2012), Japan is the third national
market in the world. By turnover
however, Japan ranks second with
18.5% of total annual sales revenue.

160

140

120

100

80 60

Please note that the data from thelast few pages on the world's mostimportant markets (indexes, y-o-y
growth figures and absolute numbers)
are different indicators wich cannot becompared one on one.

40

July 2014

Jan. 2014

July 2013

Jan. 2013

July 2012

Jan. 2012

July 2011

Jan. 2011

July 2010

Jan. 2010

July 2009

Jan. 2009

July 2008

Jan. 2008

July 2007

Jan. 2007

July 2006

Jan. 2006

July 2005

Jan. 2004

July 2004

Jan. 2004

July 2003

Jan. 2003

July 2002

Jan. 2002

20 02015 Economic Report / Ciett / 25

1

3.5 growth% AVERAGE EUROPEAN Y-O-Y

THE EMPLOYMENT & RECRUITMENT
INDUSTRY WORLDWIDEb) Agency work

European Agency Work Business Indicator:
Evolution of hours worked, year-on-year change

Europe: Increase in growth
but mixed picture
The European Agency Work BusinessIndicator, showing the year-on-year
development of agency work hours,
shows firmly positive figures. Yearon year growth in September 2014
amounted to 3.5%. Growth remains
to be hampered however by two of
the big European markets that show
weak results, Germany (0.4% y-o-y in
September) and France (-4.5% y-o-y in
October). Better performing countries
include Belgium, the Netherlands,
Italy, Denmark and Poland.

IN SEPTEMBER 2014

European average60%
dk 14.7%40%

it 10.7%
nl 10.0%
pl 9.9%20%

be 4.8%eur. avg.

3.5%
de 0.4%0%

ch 0.1%
no -0.4%-20%

fr -4.5%

26 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

Oct. 2014

July 2014

Jan. 2014

April 2014

Oct. 2013

July 2013

April 2013

Oct. 2012

Jan. 2013

July 2012

April 2012

Jan. 2011

Oct. 2011

July 2011

Jan. 2010

April 2011

Oct. 2010

July 2010

April 2010

Oct. 2009

Jan. 2009

July 2009

Jan. 2009

April 2009

Oct. 2008

July 2008

April 2008

Jan. 2008-40%

Source: Ciett national federation members

US

2.1%

EUR

1.7%

JP

2.0%

WORLD

1.6%

Agency work penetration rate
in key markets 1996-2013

Penetration rate rising in
the three key markets

2,5%
us 2.1%
jp 2.0%2,0%

eur 1.7%
world 1.6%

1,5%

1,0%

0,5%

Source: Ciett national federation members; ILO-ILOSTAT Database, 2013. Note: European average excludes Russia. Note: Historic series European average was revised in 2012.

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2205

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

1996

0,0%

The penetration rate is the amount ofagency workers as a share of the total
working population. In 2013, The USA,
Japan and Europe all saw an increasein their penetration rates, bringing
them closer together: 1,7%, 2.0% and2.1% for Europe, Japan and the USA
respectively. In the USA this is thecontinuation of a positive trend that
already started in 2009, whereas both
Europe and Japan saw a deteriorationin 2012 that has now been reversed.
Both the USA and Europe have now
returned to the same penetration rate
as in 2007, before the economic crisis
started. Japan is slightly below its
2007/2008 penetration rates of 2,1%
and 2.2%, which were a record high.
The world average is slightly lower
than that at 1.6%, as it includes manymarkets that are less developed thanthese top three.

2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 27

1

1.6

% world average

THE EMPLOYMENT & RECRUITMENT
INDUSTRY WORLDWIDEb) Agency work

World: Agency work penetration rate,
2005-2013

Many markets relatively
stablePenetration rates are quite stablein most markets around theworld, but generally show an
improvement after a bad year in
2012. The global average, basedon 29 countries reporting data over
2013, has risen from 0.9% to 1.6%. The
three biggest markets, USA, Japanand Europe all contributed to thispositive development.

PENETRATION RATE

0.6%
0.1%

1.7%

CA

2.0%

3.6%

RU

2.0%

JP

EUROPE
US

9.2%

0.3

%

3.0%

KR

CN

MX

IN

0.6%

0.4%

0.1%

0.6

CO

3.0%

SG

BR

PE

1.0%

%

0.4%
2005
2007
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
28 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

AR
0.5%

1.0%

ZA

AU

UY
CL

0.4%

NZ
Source: Ciett national federations; ILO - ILOSTAT Database, 2013.

1.7% Europe

PENETRATION RATE

1.1%

1.5%
FI

SE

1.2

Europe: Agency work penetration rate,
2005-2012

%

0.6%

NO

3.9%

0.6
2.5%

DK

2.1%

UK

NL

0.9%
1.8

%

2.5%

0.8%

CZ

BE

2.0

%

SK(3)

LU
AT

1.7

CH

2.3%

0.2%

0.5

%

SI (3)
FR

RU

PL

DE

1.8%

0.1%

LT

1.2%

HR

1.7%

RO

HU

0.6%

0.9%

%

0.5%
PT

(2)

ES

2005
2007
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013

0.03%

LV(1)

0.2%

1.4%

IE

EE

%

1.2%

BG

MK
IT

0.3%

0.2%

0.1%

TR

GR
Source: Ciett national federations; ILO - ILOSTAT Database, 2013.

2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 29

1

THE EMPLOYMENT & RECRUITMENT
INDUSTRY WORLDWIDE

34.1%

27.3%

EUROPENORTHAMERICAb) Agency work

World: Daily average numberof agency workers (FTE)

Agency workers filled 12
million full-time jobs in2013
In 2013, around the world 12 million
people were employed daily as agency
worker. That is a slight increase
compared to 2012. Big increases
could be seen in Japan, Italy,
Romania, Norway and Poland. On
the other hand, the Netherlands,
Austria and Germany saw
declining numbers in 2013.
Not surprisingly, the number of
FTE’s is closely correlated to thevolume of annual sales revenue
in a country, with the big countries
being USA, Japan and the UK. South
Africa is an exception as it does havea high number of FTE’s, but does notappear high in the list of annual sales
revenue.

98,0004,078,000

CA(3)92,000RU(1)1,285,000

EUROPE

3,030,000

US

107,000JPKR(2)139,000

313,000

MXIN

530,000

CO(3)20,000613,000

SG

BR

PE(3)
85,00058,000AR335,000

1,220,000

ZA(1)

AU

CL(3)
32,00030 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

NZ(1)

8,000

Source: Ciett national federations 2013 (1) Source: Ciett national federations 2012 (2) Source Ciett national federations 2011 (3) Source Ciett national federations 2010. (4) Source Ciett national
federations 2009. Based on figures from 46 countries17.3%

11.0%

10.2%
28,000ASIA/
PACIFIC

SOUTH
AMERICAFI

AFRICA

Europe: Daily average numberof agency workers (FTE)

NO
4,000

31,000

EE

SE

IE(1)

LT
2,000

211,000

NL

UK
BE
83,000185,000

839,000

6,000

PL

DE

46,000

CZ

LU

510,000

FR

LV(1)

DK

1,156,000

26,000200

70,00017,00077,00074,000CH

19,000

SK(3)

AT
SI

5,000

HU

74,000(3)

20,000

RO

HR
8,000

10,000277,000
81,00080,000PT (2)

6,000

IT

BG(1)

MK

ES

20,000
5,000

TR(1)

GR
2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 31

1

THE EMPLOYMENT & RECRUITMENT
INDUSTRY WORLDWIDE

17.7 MILLION

peoplec) Search & selection

Search and selection
bringing millions of people
onto the labour market
In search and selection, or permanent
recruitment as it also may becalled, an agency sources the rightcandidates for a client company that
ultimately hires the candidate. Profilesof candidates differ from country tocountry, and can both be white or blue
collar. With 18 countries reporting,the total number of people recruited
through an agency amounts to 17.7
million. In reality, the total will bemuch bigger, as not all countries wereable to provide figures on the actual
amount of people recruited.
Japan: only assigments longer than fournmonths. If all recruitments would be included
15.48 million (2012).

Total number of placements throughsearch and selection activities

170,000
634,608SE
32,000

UK
8,945

IE

449,765BE
FRCZ
CH 1,000

39,40098,000

25

7,452

HU

RO

HR

BG 10,000

800

GR

TR

572

15,000JP

40,000SGBR265,000
767,000

AU
50,000NZ
32 / Ciett / 2015 Economic ReportPermanent Placement Fees, Regional
Performance - YoY % Change
40%

All markets showed improving fees
for search and selection over thecourse of 2013, as reported by Staffing
Industry Analysts. It should be noted
however that the level of fees does notnecessarily reflect how well the sector
is doing. As fees are often based on
the salary of the sourced worker,
higher fees can also reflect a focus ona higher end of the market, more theexecutive and white collar part of thelabour market than blue collar work.

americasregion30%

20%globalaverageapac
region10%0%Search and selection fees
recovering after several
years of decline

emea
region-10%

Sources: Staffing Industry Analysts, AESC, Competitive earnings releases

Oct. 2013

July 2013

April 2013

Jan. 2013

Oct. 2012

July 2012

April 2012

Jan. 2012

Oct. 2011

July 2011

April 2011

Jan. 2011-20%

2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 33

1

$4.4 bn

THE EMPLOYMENT & RECRUITMENT
INDUSTRY WORLDWIDEd) Recruitment Process Outsourcing

RPO is a quickly growing
market
RPO stands for Recruitment Process
Outsourcing. RPO is a form of Human
Resources Outsourcing, but does
not include payroll administration
etcetera. Instead, it focuses onsourcing and matching candidates fora user company or employer, while it
may also include hiring staff. Because
RPO is a relatively nascent part ofthe employment and recruitment
industry, there is not as yet a clear cut
and widely agreed defintion. RPO andHRO are in turn a subset of Business
Process Outsourcing.
Staffing Industry Analysts estimates
the total size of the RPO market at$4.4 Bn in 2013.

OF THE RPO MARKET

Recruitment Process Outsourcing

BPO

RPO IS PART OF HRO,
PART OF BPOTOTAL NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALSOUTPLACED BY PRIVATEEMPLOYMENT SERVICES IN SELECTEDCOUNTRIES

HRO
RPO

4,899

Billions US$

RPO MARKET
SIZE, 2012-2016(PREVISIONS)

5

1,690,000

2,864

BR

MX

28,000

2
North America
EMEA
APAC
Latin America

137,000

3,738

4
3

Note: Brazil data also includes other forms of
BPO.

775

1
SE

0
2012 (e)34 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

total size

2014 (p)RO

2016 (p)Sources: Top: Ciett national federation members. Bottom: KellyOCG Global Trends in RPO and Talent Recruitment 2014 (Nov 2013); Nelson Hall; Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association(2014); RPO is on the go, Workforce (Feb 2014)

$2.2 bne) Outplacement

total

OUTPLACEMENT

Outplacement
TOTAL NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS OUTPLACED BY PRIVATE EMPLOYMENT SERVICES IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

20,000BR

20,00017,095

SE

BE

365

RO

227

200

GR

BG

15%

OUTPLACEMENT SERVICES COMPETITOR PERFORMANCE
YOY % CHANGE (ADECCO,MANPOWER, TEMP HOLDINGS,PASONA)

10.1%

10.3%

10.6%

Employment & recruitment
industry gaining foothold in
outplacement
Outplacement is a service to guide aterminated employee of a company toa satisfactory new position or career.
Employment and recruitment agencies
are increasingly providing short- or
long-term counseling and support
services to people looking for a newjob. This can happen on a group orindividual basis and is most often
paid for by the terminating employer.
Outplacement is a service that Ciett
members are becoming increasingly
active in. The size of this market isestimated at $ 2.2 bn.

8.3%

10%

5%

2.8%
0.2%

7.8%
4.4%

0
Q1 2012 Q2 2012 Q3 2012 Q4 2012 Q1 2013 Q2 2013 Q3 2013 Q4 2013
Source: Ciett national federation members (top). Staffing Industry Analysts; competitor earnings releases/transcripts/press releases; oipartners.net; “The Future of the Outplacement Industry
Roundtable Discussion" (2012) , Insala.com (bottom).

2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 35

1

THE EMPLOYMENT & RECRUITMENT
INDUSTRY WORLDWIDEf) Online recruitment

Online recruitment is aninnovative HR service
Several models of online recruitment
platforms exist today, providing different
ways of sourcing the work as well as
different potential outcomes. Services by
Ciett corporate members could mostly fit
under online staffing.
Online Staffing an online platform model that enables
specific hirers and specific (typically contingent) workers toenter into, complete, and transact work arrangements, isthe oldest “human cloud” model (arising in the early 2000s).
There is a direct contractual/legal relationship between hirer
and worker, which the platform enables. Well-known names
are Elance-oDesk, but there were over 115 different platformbusinesses in this segment ($1.5 global billings in 2013).
Online Services an online platform model that enables thedelivery of certain specialized services (customer service,translation, writing, etc.) performed by a managed group of
online workers organized/managed by the platform provider.
The client is purchasing “an outcome” (as a service output,
not a labor relationship). Though the model was launched
by LiveOps before 2000, only recently have more businesses(like Rev) begun appearing in this segment.
Crowdsourcing an online platform model that enables work
assignments to get parsed-out and performed (often as
disaggregated “microtasks”) by a far-flung “crowd” of independent workers who perform (paid or otherwise compensated/incented ) work at will, first arose in 2005 (Amazon’s
Mechanical Turk). Typically, the client of a “crowdsourcing”
platform is purchasing “an outcome” (as a service output,
not a labor relationship). In 2012, there were over 60 different
businesses in this segment.
36 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

Online staffing and recruitment"A Crowd"
CrowdFlower

Crowdsourcing

LionBridge
Amazon Turk

OnlineStaffing

Chaordix
Innocentive
99Design

HOW THEWORK ISORGANIZED

freelancer.com
Elance-oDesk
Peopleperhour
Work market
FieldNation

LiveOps

OnForce

Rev

Task Rabbit

Gigwalk
Ciett corporate members

OnlineServices

SpecificWorker(s)Labor
Relationship

WHAT THE CLIENT GETS

Service Output

Source: Staffing Industry Analysts; Online Staffing platforms: 2014 landscape

16

AVERAGE ANNUAL RATE OF new
startups FROM 2006-2013
Online recruitment one of
the fastest growing markets

Online staffing and recruitment

ONLINE STAFFING FORECAST(2012-2020)

The global online staffing market isestimated at $1.5B in 2013. Even themost conservative estimate projects
the market size will grow 40% annually
to reach $16B by 2020. This means thistype of HR service is a fast developing
way of organizing work.

CUMULATIVE NET NEW ONLINE STAFFING
PLATFORM(1) (By Year Started)
150

50

Today, there are about 145 online
staffing businesses, growing at an
average rate of about 16 per year. This
trend seems to be continuing.

40
AGGRESSIVE(~60% CAGR)

100

30

PLAUSIBLE(~50% CAGR)

20
50
10

Source: Staffing Industry Analysts; Online Staffing platforms: 2014 landscape

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2205

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

0

1998

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

0

2012

CONSERVATIVE(~40% CAGR)2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 37

CHAPTER 2

AGENCY WORKand the economy

38 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report2As has been shown before, agency work shows a strong
correlation to several other economic indicators.
In this chapter we will explore those correlations, illustrating
how AGENCY WORK IS AN IMPORTANT WAY FOR LABOUR MARKETS TO
ADAPT TO ECONOMIC CHANGE. It also shows that agency work is a
catalyst, rather than a substitute of job growth.

THE ECONOMIES WITH MORE FLEXIBLE LABOUR
MARKETS WERE THE ONES THAT HAVE WEATHEREDTHE CRISIS BEST IN TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT.
Herman van Rompuy, President of the European Council,
at the Tripartite Social Summit, October 20142015 Economic Report / Ciett / 39

2

AGENCY WORK AND THE ECONOMY

Europe: Evolution of number of hours worked by agency workers
versus average EU 28 unemployment change (year on year)

Europe: Unemployment
going down as agency work
continues to growIn Q2 2014, EU unemployment levels
fell by 5,4% compared with the same
period in 2013. As the number ofagency hours worked grew by 4.2% in
the same period, it shows that generalemployment levels caught up withagency work. Agency work showed thefirst positive growth in October 2013,
while unemployment levels started todrop in December 2013 (with 0.1%).
The delay of two to three months
between agency work and generalunemployment illustrates the waythat agency work is able to respond to
economic developments quicker thanother forms of work.

30%
20%
Y-O-Y CHANGE INUNEMPLOYMENT(EU 28)

10%
0%
-10%

EVOLUTION OF AWHOURS WORKED EUROPE

Oct. 2014

July 2014

April 2014

Oct. 2013

Jan. 2014

July 2013

Jan. 2013

April 2013

Oct. 2012

July 2012

April 2012

Jan. 2012

Oct. 2011

July 2011

Jan. 2011

April 2011

Oct. 2010

July 2010

April 2010

Jan. 2010

Oct. 2009

July 2009

April 2009

Oct. 2008

Jan. 2009

July 2008

Jan. 2008

40 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

April 2008-20%

USA: Total employment versus agency work,in thousands
USA TOTAL NONFARM EMPLOYMENT,SEASONALLY ADJUSTEDUSA TEMPORARY HELP,SEASONALLY ADJUSTED

150,000

3,000

135,000

2,500

120,000

2,000

105,000

1,500

USA: Agency work precedes
general employment trend
In the USA, as in Europe, the agency
work industry will usually respondquicker to economic trends – both
positive and negative - than generalemployment. For example, in the2009 recession, agency work started
growing again in September, which
was about 6 months before generalemployment. The flexibility thatagency work offers gives businesses
an opportunity to turn newly available
work into real jobs. This also meansthat agency work can be considereda leading economic indicator. Thisgraph also shows very clearly how
agency work is a cyclical industry,
which responds more markedly toeconomic developments than generalemployment levels.

Recessions (shaded periods)

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2205

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

1996

1995

1994

1993

1992

1,000
1991

90,0002015 Economic Report / Ciett / 41

AGENCY WORK AND THE ECONOMY

42 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

Y-O-Y EVOLUTION OF AWHOURS WORKED - EUROPE

Y-O-Y EVOLUTION OF GDP
VOLUME - EU28

July 2014

April 2014

Jan. 2014

Oct. 2013

July 2013

April 2013

Oct. 2012

Jan. 2013

July 2012

Jan. 2012

April 2012-30%
Oct. 2011-6%
July 2011-20%

April 2011-4%

Oct. 2010-10%

Jan. 2011-2%

July 2010

0%

Jan. 2010

0%

April 201010%

Oct. 20092%

July 200920%

April 20094%

Oct. 2008

30%

Jan. 2009

6%

Jan. 2008

Generally, agency work and GDP
growth develop simultaneously: if GDP
goes up, agency work is one of thefirst sectors to benefit from that. As
companies may have more work, but
perhaps not yet enough confidence todirectly hire more employees, agency
work may be an excellent way for
those companies to access the righttalent, and turn available work into
jobs. In 2014 the same happened, but
it seems agency work is not yet able tobenefit as much from the GDP growth
as on previous occasions, such as in2010/2011. This may indicate that therecovery is still fragile.

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

July 2008

Europe: Agency work
growth lagging behind GDP
development

April 2008

2

Source: Ciett national federation members / Eurostat

Relation between different forms of work
and GDP growth rate

EU15: CORRELATION COEFFICIENTS OF DIFFERENTFORMS OF WORK IN ABSOLUTE TERMS
OPEN-ENDED
CONTRACTS

SELFEMPLOYMENTAGENCY
WORK

OPEN-ENDED
CONTRACTS

1.00

0.92

0.91

SELFEMPLOYMENT

0.92

1.00

AGENCY
WORK

0.91

0.91

EU15: CORRELATION COEFFICIENTS BETWEENDIFFERENT FORMS OF WORK IN RELATIVE TERMS(SHARE IN TOTAL EMPLOYMENT) AND EVOLUTION
OF THE REAL GDP
REAL GDP(YEAR T)REAL GDP GROWTH
RATE (YEAR T+1)

OPEN-ENDED
CONTRACTS

-0.81

0.10

0.95

SELFEMPLOYMENT

0.17

-0.18

1.00

AGENCY
WORK

0.95

-0.06

 ERY STRONG POSITIVE CORRELATION:V
IF ONE GOES UP, THE OTHER GOES UP ALMOST AS MUCH
 TRONG POSITIVE CORRELATION:SIF ONE GOES UP, THE OTHER GOES UP SLIGHTLY LESS OSITIVE CORRELATION:PIF ONE GOES UP, THE OTHER ALSO GOES UP SLIGHTLY EGATIVE CORRELATION:N
IF ONE GOES UP, THE OTHER GOES SLIGHTLY DOWN

These correlations demonstrate that noform of work is growing at the expenseof another (in particular, the evolutionof agency work is strongly positively
correlated to the evolution of openended contracts).

Europe: Positive relation
between agency work andother forms of work
The left table demonstrates that inabsolute terms, no form of work is growing
at the expense of another.
Meanwhile, the right table shows
relative correlations (share in total
employment). If the share of one form
goes, up, by definition another form
goes down. In a given year, agency work
directly follows GDP developments andis thus pro-cyclical, while open-ended
employment needs a one-year time lag
to follow the same development as GDP.
This illustrates the higher flexibility of
temporary (agency) work: this workforce
is first to adapt to economic conditions.
After a while, businesses have been able
to adapt their regular workforce: then thesize of open-ended employment adjusts toeconomic conditions.

 TRONG NEGATIVE CORRELATION:SIF ONE GOES UP, THE OTHER GOES DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY
Source: IDEA Consult based on Eurostat (LFS Data) and Ciett data.

2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 43

CHAPTER 3

CONTRIBUTION
of the employment
and recruitment industry
TO LABOUR MARKETS

44 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report3There are many ways in which the employment and recruitment
industry contributes to better functioning labour markets. As labour
market intermediaries, employment and recruitment agencies havea deep knowledge of labour markets. THIS MEANS THAT THEY CAN OFFER
INSIGHTS AND PRACTICAL TOOLS to workers looking to navigate theworld of work, but also to companies and policy makers.

THE POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION THAT PRIVATE EMPLOYMENTAGENCIES MAKE TO THE WORLDWIDE EMPLOYMENT AND
ECONOMIC OBJECTIVES SHOULD BE FULLY RECOGNIZED BY
NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONSAND RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS.
INDEED SERVICES PROVIDED BY PRIVATE EMPLOYMENTAGENCIES CAN BE PART OF THE SOLUTION TO IMPROVE THE
EFFICIENCY OF THE LABOUR MARKETSILO Country Office for Bangladesh,“Promoting cooperation for safe migration and decent work” – 20142015 Economic Report / Ciett / 45

3

CONTRIBUTION OF THE EMPLOYMENT AND
RECRUITMENT INDUSTRY TO LABOUR MARKETS

Italy: companies highly
positive on contributions ofagency work to the labour
market
The results of this survey, heldamong a representative group of
Italian businesses, clearly shows thatcompanies see and appreciate therole of agency work on the labour
market. Also, companies that haveexperience with agency work are much
more positive about the contributionsof the employment & recruitment
industry to the labour market thancompanies that have never used oneof our services. Apparently, companies
have an unjustifiably bad image of ourindustry, which is corrected once they
get in touch with an actual agency.

Italy: companies that agree withthe following statements:
AGENCIES OFFER YOUNG PEOPLE A
FORMAL JOB

67%

AGENCIES OFFER A FIRST EXPERIENCE ON
THE LABOUR MARKET FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

87%
86%

66%

AGENCIES HELP PEOPLE WHO LOST THEIRJOBS RE-ENTER THE LABOUR MARKET

79%
75%

41%

AGENCIES CONTRIBUTE TO FIGHT
UNDECLARED WORK

56%

43%

AGENCIES GIVE PEOPLE OVER 50 YEARS OLD
THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET BACK TO WORK

33

70%

50%

%

38%
44%
42%
36%

AGENCIES GIVE A CHANCE TO GETAPPROPRIATE TRAINING
AGENCIES OFFER SEVERAL OPPORTUNITIESTO GROW PROFESSIONALLY

27

31%

%

20%
0

10

20

30

40

COMPANIES USING AGENCY WORKCOMPANIES THAT HAVE USED AGENCY WORK IN THE PASTCOMPANIES THAT HAVE NEVER USED AGENCY WORK
46 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

92%
87%

Source: Il mondo del lavoro e I contratti di somministrazione. Ipsos public affairs for Assolavoro, 2014

50

60

70

80

90

100

30%
a) Stepping stone

Unemployed

BEFORE

11%

46%

AFTER

BEFORE

Employed / unemployed
before and after agency work
% OF AGENCY WORKERS THAT ARE EMPLOYED (EITHER WITH A TEMP, FIXED-TERM OR OPEN-ENDED CONTRACTS)
BEFORE AND 12 MONTHS AFTER TEMPING
100%

93%
78%

80%
60%

63%

60% 60% 60%

58%

74%

70%

65%

84%

80%

75

%

65%

51%
40

%

40%

40%

37%

43%

38%

33

%

25%

22%

20%

63%

59%

0%
0%

AU

AT
5%

20%

14
24%

40%
60%

BR

%

10%

CZ

GR

5%

11%

18%
27

%

41%

FR

IN

NZ

NO

7%

RO
8% 7%

SG

ZA

SE

4%

5%

5%

US

25%

31% 29

%

33%

39%

43%
60%

% OF AGENCY WORKERS THAT ARE OFFICIALLY REGISTERED AS UNEMPLOYEDBEFORE AND 12 MONTHS AFTER TEMPING

30%
39%

59%
BEFORE
AFTER

72%
Employed

AFTER

Agency work helps people
move out of unemployment...
People who start doing agency work outof unemployment will often not return tounemployment after their assignment.
Although there are significant differences
between the countries, each show thatagency work is a stepping stone out of
unemployment into work. In Brazil for
example, 85% of agency workers come outof unemployment, and only 30% of them
return to unemployment after their agency
work assignment. Clearly, people use theexperience and skills they obtain whileworking as an agency worker to make anext move on the labour market.

...and provides a steppingstone to longer lasting
employment
People who start working as an agency
worker can do so either from employment
or unemployment, but also from education
or inactivity. Through agency work, they do
not only have a good point of entry to thelabour market, but they are also able tostay in employment up to 12 months after
their agency work assignment ended.
2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 47

3

CONTRIBUTION OF THE EMPLOYMENT AND
RECRUITMENT INDUSTRY TO LABOUR MARKETSFULL-TIME
INDEFINITEb) Job quality

48 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

3.8 avg

3.8 avg
FIXED
TERM

PART-TIME
INDEFINITE

3.7 avg
AGENCY
WORK

3.3 avg
SEASONAL

ZERO-HOURSCONTRACT

2.5 avg

BOGUS SELFEMPLOYED

1.7 avg

Job quality rating based on averages
for 12 European countries

Agency work ranks high on
job quality
The London Metropolitan University
devised a ranking of the quality ofvarious types of employment. Thisranking was based on 9 criteria. By
giving a score between 1 and 5 to eachof them, they came up with an averageranking of job quality that is based on
more than only the legal protection
against dismissal. It shows that fulltime open ended contracts, part-time
open-ended contracts, direct fixed
term contracts and agency work are
all comparable in terms of overall job
quality. It shows that informal workand bogus or false self-employment
are the forms of work that offer
the worst job quality. Agency work,
being a well-regulated form of workin most countries, offers high job
quality, especially in terms of accessto wellfare and pension, working time
limits, discrimination protection andalso on job security.

3.9 avg

5

JOB
SECURITYJOBCONVERSIONWORKING TIME DISCRI­MINATION
LIMITSPROTECTIONPENSIONSWELFARE

FULL-TIME INDEFINITE

PART-TIME INDEFINITESEASONAL

FIXED TERM

AGENCY WORK

ZERO-HOURS CONTRACT

TRAINING

DECENT PAY

REPRE­SEN­TATION

4

3

2

1

0
BOGUS SELF-EMPLOYED

Source: Study on precarious work and social rights, carried out for the European Commission.
Working lives research Institute, Faculty of social sciences & humanities, London Metropolitan University

1.98

index of SOCIALPROTECTIONAGENCY
WORK

1.94

FIXED-TERM
CONTRACTS

1.2

SELFEMPLOYED
Index of access to social security
compared to open-ended contracts

UNEMPLOYMENTBENEFITSSICK BENEFITSHEALTHCARE

MATERNITY LEAVEPENSION’S
BENEFITSINDEX OF ACCESSTO SOCIALSECURITY

2

1.98 avg

1.94 avg
1,5

1.2 avg
1

Agency work offering goodaccess to social security andvocational training
Agency work offers almost the same
access to social security as people
in open-ended employment relations
have. That means it offers slightly
more protection than people in
fixed term employment have. Thisis explained by some specific legal
provisions that exist only for agency
workers such as regarding sick leave
for agency workers in the Netherlands
or on pension rights for agency
workers in Norway. People in selfemployment have significantly lower
social protection.

0,50
N.B: AVERAGE OF NATIONAL COMPARISONS WITH OPEN-ENDED CONTRACTS:
2 = “IDENTICAL PROVISIONS/CONDITIONS”
1 = “DIFFERENT AND LESS ADVANTAGEOUS PROVISIONS/CONDITIONS”
0 = “NO PROVISION”
Source: How agency work compares to other forms of work. IDEA Consult for Eurociett/UNI-Europa. Expected February 2015.

AGENCY WORKFIXED-TERM CONTRACTS
SELF-EMPLOYED2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 49

3

CONTRIBUTION OF THE EMPLOYMENT AND
RECRUITMENT INDUSTRY TO LABOUR MARKETSb) Job quality

Europe: Agency work offers
better quality work than fixed
term contracts
Based on a survey among trade unions
and agency work federations in Europe,
as well as on Eurofound data, a joint
research by Eurociett and trade union
UNI-Europa concludes that agency work
offers more protection to workers than
fixed-term employment can offer. The
level of protection is almost as highas under open-ended contracts. Self
employment scores significantly less.
[1] This category includes information that go beyond
the definition of the European Directives. Morespecifically, this category includes evaluation of theworking time limits and pay but also, evaluation of
the satisfaction of workers with the hours worked
and the evaluation of the duration, the schedulingand the short-term flexibility over working time.
[2] Each form of work gets a score from 3 to 1 basedon an analysis of some results of the EWCS
(2010) used in the study.
[3] The index is calculated on the basis of the national comparisons with open-ended contracts:
2 stands for “identical provisions/conditions”,
1 stands for “different and less advantageous
provisions/conditions” and 0 for “no provision”.
[4] This index is calculated as follows: 2 stands
for “initiatives developed by Social Partners”, 1
stands for “initiatives developed in some sectors
only” and 0 for “no initiative developed”.
50 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

Combined index of job quality

BASIC WORKINGAND EMPLOYMENTCONDITIONS(BROADLY DEFINED) (1)
EWCS 2010 (2)32,5ACCESS TO SOCIALSECURITY (IN THEORY)
Survey (3)VOCATIONAL TRAINING
SurveyEWCS 2010 (2)HEALTH AND SAFETY
Survey (4)EWCS 2010 (2)OPEN-ENDED
CONTRACTS
AGENCYWORKFIXED-TERM
CONTRACTS

2
1,5

SELFEMPLOYMENT

1
0,5
0

Source: How agency work compares to other forms of work. IDEA Consult for Eurociett/UNI-Europa. Expected February 2015.

Less restrictive regulation on agency work
helps to reduce the size of undeclared work
STRICTNESS OF REGULATIONON AGENCY WORK (BASED ON
OECD EMPLOYMENT PROTECTIONLEGISLATION INDEX). (0=least

restrictions, 6=most restrictions)

2

BE
LU

FR

AU

1,5

PL

SI

ES

PT

SK

IT

EE

GR

GE

AT

HU

JP

LV

1
IE

SE

DK

NL
UK

0,5

NZ
0%
MARKET TYPE
MARKET-DRIVEN
Source: Ciett national federations

UNDECLAREDECONOMYAS % OF GDP

AUUS

US
0

FI

5%
LEGISLATION-DRIVENCN
10%SOCIAL DIALOGUE

15%

20%

25%

Less restrictive regulation
on agency work helps
to reduce the size ofundeclared work
Agency work offers companies andworkers a decent alternative toundeclared work. Therefore, a direct
relation can be seen between thelevel of regulation on agency workand the incidence of undeclared work.
More restrictive regulation on agency
work is often seen to push companies
and workers towards other forms offlexible labour including undeclared
work.
What is typical to note is that countries
performing best both on bothindicators are either market driven
economies or markets where social
legislation is to an extend determinedby social dialogue, allowing for quick
adaptation to labour market needs.
Ligislation driven countries such as inSouthern Europe perform less well, as
do countries with economies that are
in a relatively emerging state, mostly
in Central and Eastern Europe.

EMERGING MARKET2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 51

3

CONTRIBUTION OF THE EMPLOYMENT AND
RECRUITMENT INDUSTRY TO LABOUR MARKETSc) Inclusion

Agency work enhances
labour market participationfor vulnerable groups
Agency work gives people a chance
to prove their worth, even if they arecoming from a stigmatized groupthat may have less opportunities on
the labour market. This includes
people with disabilities, people withforeign nationalities, but also groups
such as younger or older workers
and women. Having a direct relation
with the worker, an agency is capableof assessing their actual qualities,
while a user company is not taking a(perceived) risk by hiring that worker.

Agency work enhances labour market
participation for vulnerable groups
In Germany, 17% of agency
workers were of a foreign
nationality, double the sharein overall employment (2012). In
Belgium (2) this was 9.2% versus
4.2% in general employment.

In Netherlands, 38%of agency workers
belong to “target
groups” (1)NL
In France, people under 25 year
old account for 25% of all agency
workers: 90% of them had neverworked before with an open-ended
contract (A) and 69% with a fixedterm contract (B).
In addition, 58% of under 25
year old agency workers failed to
get their A-level and are therefore
low-qualified. As for 50+ agency
workers, they represent 10% of
all agency workers.

17%

38%
DE

<25
>50

9.2%
BE (2)In Belgium (2), 4.6% ofagency workers are
physically handicapped.

4.6%

C
B
A

FR

BE (2)

25%
52 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report(1) Elderly, women, minorities, people with disabilities or long term unemployed - (2) Flanders only - Source: Ciett national federations

90%d) Employability

Agency work contributes to employability

USA: nearly of 90% agency
workers reports thatagency work (staffing) madethem more employable.

62%

Temporary and contract work is asought-after way to gain skills andwork experience. Nearly 90% of
temporary and contract employees
reported that their staffing
employment experience made themmore employable by for example
adding to their work skills, strengthen
their resume or receiving on the job
experience. This adds to the argumentthat agency work offers a steppingstone towards more opportunities on
the labour market.

I DEVELOPED NEW OR IMPROVED work skills
I RECEIVED ON-THE-JOB experience59%

IT HELPED STRENGTHEN MY resume

59%

IT HELPED ME GET MY FOOT IN THE DOOR FOR A

49%

permanent job

I GAINED SELF-confidence

38%

I DEVELOPED better work habits

35%
5%

OTHER

11%

I DON'T FEEL IT MADE ME MORE EMPLOYABLE
0
Source: American Staffing Association, 2014 Staffing Employee Survey

MADE more
EMPLOYABLE

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 53

3

1.5 million trained

CONTRIBUTION OF THE EMPLOYMENT AND
RECRUITMENT INDUSTRY TO LABOUR MARKETSWORKERSe) (life-long) training

Agency work contributes tolifelong learning
In many countries agency workers
receive formal training, either directly
through the agency, or throughbipartite funds set up by the agencies
and the trade unions. This makes surethat agency workers get opportunities
to keep developing themselves inorder to take another step on thelabour market. Being close to thelabour market, employment andrecruitment agencies are excellently
suited to advice workers on the type oftraining to follow in order to enhancetheir employability. In 14 countries a
total of almost 1.5 million workers istrained annually, while an amount of
1 676 million is spent on training eachyear.

Number of workers trained directly
and through bipartite funds
FI

NL
BE

LU
AT

FR

MX(1)

ES

RO

CH

IT
GR(1)

BR

ZA

WORKERS TRAINED THROUGH BIPARTITE FUND
WORKERS TRAINED DIRECTLY

54 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

Source: Ciett national federations. (1): 2012 data.

€ 3,7 million

SPENT ON training
OF AGENCY WORKERS

Budget spent on training foragency workers

NL
BE

FR

MX(1)

LU

AT

CH

ES

RO
IT

BR

ZA

AGENCY CONTRIBUTION TO BIPARTITE TRAINING FUNDSBUDGET SPENT ON TRAINING
Source: Ciett national federations. (1): 2012 data.

2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 55

CHAPTER 4

THE PROFILE OF
AGENCY WORKERS
and their assignments

56 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

4The defining factor in the employment andrecruitment industry is that there are always
THREE PARTIES INVOLVED: A WORKER, A USER COMPANY
AND AN INTERMEDIARY. Still, the nature of agency
work and the backgrounds of workers differ
greatly. In this chapter we will look at some ofthe variables and see what the differences mean
for the workers as well as our industry.

I [AM COMMITTED TO TAKE ACTION] TO ENCOURAGE THE
CREATION OF THE QUALITY JOBS THAT EUROPE NEEDS SO
MUCH IN THESE DIFFICULT TIMES. TEMPORARY AGENCYWORK CAN PLAY A POSITIVE ROLE HERE, IN PARTICULAR BY
BRINGING FLEXIBILITY TO THE LABOUR MARKET.
Marianne Thyssen, European Commissioner for Employment,
Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility.

2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 57

4

THE PROFILE OF AGENCY WORKERS
AND THEIR ASSIGNMENTS

Gender balance varies
greatly, depending on types
of use of agency work
Gender balance among agency
workers depends on many aspects,
such as the socio-economic fabricof society, and economic history or
tradition. In some countries, agency
work is mostly done by women
who might drop out of the labour
market once they start families, orby mothers who want to take careof their family and want a flexible
job next to that. Typically, countries
where agency workers are mostly
employed in the services sector tend
to have more female agency workers,
while countries where agency work
is used more in the construction or
manufacturing sectors have moremale agency workers.

AVERAGE AGENCY WORKER

43%

gender balance

57%

Agency workers gender balance

FEMALE
MALE

50 FI 50
47

53 NO

41 NL

55 UK 4540
2758 US 4256 MX 44

40 ES 60

BE 60

FR

73

40 DK
59
30

21

25

50 SE 50

LU
CH

DE

55 EE

60

46 LT
46 PL

70
50 CZ 50

79 21

AT

57

54

54

HU 43 50 RO 50

79
45 HR

75
45 IT
55

45

42
55 MK 58
54 GR

46

41

27

49 ZA 51
AR

59

3
IN
97
35

56 BR 44

JP

SG

65

45 AU 5573

55 NZ
58 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report45Under 25

40%

Under 30

65%

WORLDWIDEWORLDWIDE

Agency workers tend to be
young

Age of agency workers

NO

FI
SE

EE

NL
PL

UK
DE

BE

CZ

LU

US

FR

ES

In most countries, the majorityof agency workers is under 30.
Worldwide, on average 66%. India has
only 1% of workers over 30. In South
Africa it’s only 9% and in China 23%. In
these countries, it is clear that agency
work is an excellent stepping stone
onto the labour market for young
people. On average, more establishedmarkets such as Japan, the USA, Italy,
France and Luxembourg have more
older workers. In these countries,
agency work is generally considered
to be a good and viable alternative toother types of employment and seen
as providing a stepping stone to thelabour market from any situation. The
difference between age profiles also
correlates with different motivations
that people have to work as an agency
worker: to earn some money during
a study, young parents who work only
part time, or specialized professionals
who are looking for the best place tomarket their skills.

›45
31-45
26-30
21-25
‹21
NO DATA

HU

CN

RO

JP

AT

IT

IN

MK
GR

MX

BR

CO(1)

AR

ZA

NZ
(1) Source: Ciett national federations 2011.
Germany: Categories are <20; 20-29; 30-39; 40-49; ≥50. Hungary & Poland : Categories are: <25; 25-49; >50.

2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 59

4

26%

THE PROFILE OF AGENCY WORKERS
AND THEIR ASSIGNMENTS

54%

COMPLETEDHIGHER EDUCATION

80% of agency workers
completed secondary
education or more

20%

Level of education of agency workers
16 8
FI
46

5

On average, 26% of agency workers
completed higher education. There
are significant differences between
countries though, with some markets
mostly based on higher educatedworkers, and some mostly on typicalblue collar work. The reason that India
has by far the highest number of highly
educated workers probably has to dowith the fact that lower skilled labourin India is often still taking place as
undeclared work. Countries withrelative large shares of low skilledworkers such as the Czech Republic,
Luxembourg or Macedonia tend tohave a large part of agency work donein construction or manufacturing (seepage 63).

DID NOT COMPLETE
SECONDARY EDUCATIONCOMPLETEDSECONDARY EDUCATION

52 NO 43
5
45 SE

48

30 10
EE
60

20

38

3
31
29
NL
DE
5
49
49
CZ 45
15
50
27 25
9
LU 40 24BE
8 24 37
45
RO
AT
48
HU
55
76
68
15 5
14
25 25
8
HR
BG
MK 42
48
44
80
44 ES
50

2
US

60

18
46 MX
36

36

15 15
BR
70
5 3
6
61

AR

33

ZA

92

14
GR
50

40 CN

68

20
40

11
IN 21

30

20
SG
50

7
48 AU

45

15 15
NZ
70
60 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

22%

45%

33%

HIGH SKILLED

MEDIUM SKILLEDLOW SKILLED

Level of skills required by agency work
assignments

20

20
NO

19

60

SE
49

15
4
LT

7
24
LU
94

53

81

DE 40

18

22

26

CZ

60
30

20
ES
30

40

As can be seen on this page, agency
work can clearly play an important rolein helping both low- and high-skilledworkers to get valuable experienceson the labour market.

30
EE
50

20

32

Two thirds of agency work is
medium to high skilled work

HR
50

30

10
40 MK
50

RO

31
48 CN

42

18 34
GR
48

26
23

12 7
IN
81

40 SG

30

30

10
40 BR
50
4 7
ZA

89

10
40
AU
50

20
NZ

40

40
2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 61

4

THE PROFILE OF AGENCY WORKERS
AND THEIR ASSIGNMENTS

1-3 MONTHS

Average length OF

25%

AGENCY WORK ASSIGNMENTS

29%

48%

<1 MONTH

77% of agency work
assignments are over 1
month
On average, only 25% of assignments
are under one month duration, while
48% is over three months. Naturally,an agency worker can do multiple
consecutive assignments, meaningthat the length of assignment does
not necessarily say anything about
the total length of employment of aparticular worker through an agency.
There are countries where it is normal
for agency workers to have an openended contract with the agency.

>3 MONTHS

Average length of agency work
assignments

10
70
31
49 UK
20
12 5
LU
83

19
57 US 24

13
55 MX 32

19

29

22

DE
89

19

18
CZ
60

10
HU

AT 20

EE

20

100
CN

56 RO 32

80
15
25
30
50 BG
HR
55
30 3
IT
25
36
50
MK
17
61
49 GR
34
61

11

11

10

20

8
ES

73

5 10
IN
85

10
60

30

BR

36 JP 53

SG 30

30

40
59

15
ZA 26

36

25
AU
39

LONG-TERM [›3 MONTHS]MEDIUM-TERM [1-3 MONTHS]SHORT-TERM [‹1 MONTH]

62 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

30

NZ
30

Source: Ciett national federations

40

37%
SERVICES

32%

9%

MANUFACTURING

7%

4%

PUBLICADMINISTRATIONCONSTRUCTION

AGRICULTURE

Agency work employment by sector

50

NO 24

61
52

UK

36

38

54
35

MX
36

25

50 ES

15 CO

BE

DK

28

25

SE
29 40

NL
46
24
DE 14
CZ
33 35

LU
24
37 38
FR 43
39 CH 44

62
26
AT 40 HU

30 IT 52
27

23 PO

30

58

EE

75

67

34

RO 39

HR 40 MK
48
40
9
GR
82

BR 20
45
ZA
49

39

78

IN

29

12

20
SG
50

24

47 AR

JP
46

AGRICULTURE
MANUFACTURING
CONSTRUCTION

Most agency workers
employed in services andmanufacturing
In most countries, agency workers
primarily work either in services (onaverage 37%) and manufacturing(32%). Luxembourg, Norway,
Australia and France stand out
with a relative high percentage of
people in construction. Many Central
and Eastern European countries,
including Estonia, Poland, Hungary
and the Czech republic have a largepart of agency work taking place inmanufacturing. Agriculture is among
the main sectors for agency workers
in Spain, while Australia and Brazil
also have above average numbers ofagency workers in agriculture.
Note: in some countries, a large proportion of
agency work is classified as “other”, relating
to different data collection methodologies. Thisdistorts the picture.

22
AU
20
30

SERVICES
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIONOTHER
2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 63

4

THE PROFILE OF AGENCY WORKERS
AND THEIR ASSIGNMENTS

17

9%
1-9

Agency work equallyused by SME’s and bigger
companies
Companies of all sizes use agency
workers. About 48% of agency
workers are employed by companies
with less than 100 employees, theother 52% of agency workers works
in companies that have over 100
employees. Companies with less then
10 employees hire approximately
9% of all agency workers. Althoughsignificant differences exist between
countries, this does show that agency
work offers an effective way to manage
part of the workforce for all sorts ofcompanies.

%

10-49

50-99

34%

32%

22

%

100-499›500 EMPLOYEESSize of companies using agency work

63 SE 26

57
40

NL

MX
34

25 ES

30

20
20

19

30
DE
LU 25 26

60
25

23

50 EE

CZ 30

36

HR
25 25
IT 40

31

23

JP

42

RO

30
40 GR
28

78

IN

19

SG 30
40

25

7
AR
92

BR
45

39 ZA
37

28

AU

24

NZ 10064 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

Source: Ciett national federations

REASONSRELATING TO:
HIRING PERMANENTCANDIDATESAVAILABILITY OF
CANDIDATES THROUGH
AGENCY WORK

ADAPTABILITY OF THE
WORKFORCE THROUGH
AGENCY WORK

WORKERS SKILLSCOSTS AND EASE OF HIRING
RELATING TO AGENCY WORK

Reasons for hiring agency workers

US

DE

PERCENTAGE OF BUSINESSES THAT CITE AS A
FOR USING A STAFFINGCOMPANY:

main reason“Important to 8473
very important” FOR COMPANIES 4334
How important WOULD YOU SAY
THAT AGENCY WORK IS FOR YOUR ORGANISATION?
"IMPORTANT TO VERY IMPORTANT":SEFRABILITY TO TRY BEFORE HIRING
Access to more candidates
They fill our open positions quicker that I could on my own
Ability to easily change size of workforce based on project load
Ability to attain specialized skills%

REASONS THAT ARE

TO HIRE AGENCY WORKERS:

UK

47%
41%
38%
32%
26%
%
%
%

21%
72%
70%
69%
54%
45%
33%
27%

hiringagency workers?

63%
51%
49%
37%
34%
33%
32%
30%
25%
10%
2%

OPINION OF COMPANIES USING AGENCY WORK ON
THE
TO
AGENCY WORK: (MULTIPLE ANSWERS POSSIBLE)

85%
76%
42%
42%

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING REASONSDID YOU HAVE FOR

importance of accessTrying out workers
Labour costs of hiring
Bureaucracy involved in hiring staff

FLEXIBILITY; SHORT NOTICE ADAPTATION OF CAPACITY
Availability of workers

MEETING PEAKS IN DEMAND
Covering short term staff leave
Providing short term access to key strategic skills
Responding to growth
Keep running costs downManaging uncertainty during economic downturn
Managing fast changing organisational requirements
COMPANY HAD TEMPORARY WORK PEAKS AND IT REQUIRED EXTRA STAFF
To substitute absent or sick employees
There was a rush
A time-limited project requiring temporary staffing
The size of the workforce should be rapidly adaptable
Difficult to find any other way
Company needed a special expertise
It is easier and involves less administration than employing
Interim solution during recruitment
To test if we needed a new service on the company
Can not answer / do not know

Allows recruitment of specialists
Facilitates creation of permanent jobs

Sources: US: CareerBuilder and Inavero Opportunities in Staffing 2014 report. - DE: Zeitarbeit in Deutschland –Treiber für Flexibilität und Wachstum, IW Consult
GmbH, 2011. - UK: REC JobsOutlook 2014 aggregate data January-October. - SE: Personalinhyrningen I Sverige, En studie av 600 arbetsgivares anlitande av
bemanningsföretag 2012, Bemanningsföretagen (Swedish Staffing Association), 2012. - FR: Prism’Emploi, Rapport Économique & Social 2013.

OFFERS A SOLUTION FOR IMMEDIATE NEEDS
Lets you manage periods of high activity

2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 65

CHAPTER 5

Satisfaction &motivation of
AGENCY WORKERS

66 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report5In the previous chapter we saw how people working through anagency may have very different backgrounds. That also meansthat they have different reasons to choose agency work.
This chapter will highlight the personal motivations as well as
worker satisfaction of those involved in agency work. As an
industry, we can pride ourselves on the fact that PEOPLE TEND TO BE
SATISFIED WITH THEIR AGENCY JOBS, and that they would recommend
it to their family and friends.

82%

OF WORKERS ARE SATISFIED
TO very satisfied

76%

OF WORKERS would

recommend
AGENCY WORK2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 67

5

SATISFACTION AND MOTIVATIONOF AGENCY WORKERS

Vast majority of workers
would recommend agency
work to their families orfriends
Research from a range of countries
shows that agency workers are on
average very satisfied with their work. On
average, 82% of agency workers reportthat they are satisfied or very satisfied,and 76% would recommend agency work
to their family or friends. This clearlyshows that working through an agency isa conscious and deliberate choice for avast majority of the workers.
Also, results from Italy show that whenpeople are acquainted with agency work
they are more likely to recommend it,
mirroring the same bias in companies
using agency work who are morepositive about it than those who havenever done so (see page 46). Clearly,
the experience of working as an agency
worker or using agency work for yourbusiness removes an unjustified negative
image.

OF WORKERS would
recommend AGENCY WORK

76%

Would you recommend Agency work to a
family member or a friend?
YES

NO

BE

(2013)

OTHER

78%

CO

(2013)

9%

NO(2012/2013)

64%

17%

93%

FI

(2012)

7%

SE(2011/2012)

67%

18%

87%

13%

IT

(2014)

70%

20%

Note: Italy: Surely yes: 20%, probably yes 50%,
probably no 14%, surely no 6%.
68 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

Source: Ciett national federation members

82%

49% OF WORKERS ARE SATISFIED,
33% ARE very satisfied
Percentage of agency workers who aresatisfied with their work

SATISFIED

BE(2014)VERY SATISFIED

17%

OTHER / DON'T KNOW

CO

(2013)

52%

NO(2012/2013)

30%

48%
Source: Ciett national federation members

46%

FI

(2012)

48%

SE(2011/2012)

42%

39%

18%

49%

US

(2014)

FR(2013)

35%

57%

41%

51%

Note: USA: categories are: “somewhat satisfied(18%) + very satisfied (33%)” and “extremely
satisfied”
2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 69

5

SATISFACTION AND MOTIVATIONOF AGENCY WORKERS

UK: Agency work is now awell accepted form of work
for many people
In the UK, 43% of people who
had worked as an agency worker
before would consider working as atemporary agency worker again in
the future. Also, almost a quarter ofthe entire British population has atsome point in their lives worked as anagency worker. Together, this clearlyshows that agency work is now a wellestablished and regular form of work.
People with very diverse backgrounds
and very different careers haveused agency work as a way to gain
easy access to the labour market,
moving from education to work, fromunemployment to work or from one job
to another.

OF THE BRITISH POPULATION has worked AS A TEMPORARYAGENCY WORKER AT SOME POINT IN THEIR WORKING LIFE

24%

UK: Choices regarding flexible work

OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAVE WORKED AS A
TEMPORARY AGENCY WORKER:

43%
50
40

WOULD CONSIDER
WORKING AS A
TEMPORARY AGENCY
WORKER IN THE
FUTURE

34%

WOULD CONSIDER
WORKING AS A
FREELANCER IN THE
FUTURE

29%

WOULD CONSIDER
WORKING AS A
CONTRACTOR IN THE
FUTURE3020
10
070 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

Source: Flex appeal – why freelancers, contractors and agency workers choose to work this way. Recruitment & Employment Confederation, 2014.

OF AGENCY WORKERS
is satisfied WITH WORKING HOURS

50%

Satisfaction with working time in Europe

OPEN-ENDED
CONTRACTS

13%

58%

AGENCY WORK

28%

30%

50%

20%

FIXED-TERM
EMPLOYMENT

25%

50%

24%

SELFEMPLOYMENT

14%

41%

Agency workers satisfied
with working hours
50% of agency workers is satisfied
with the number of hours they workin a week, which is more than for
self-employed and equal to thatin fixed term employment. Agency
workers have on average shorter
working weeks than any other form of
employment, and about 30% of themwould like to work more hours. Thisis slightly more than for fixed-term
employment.

45%

WOULD LIKE TO WORK LESS HOURSSATISFIED WITH HOURS WORKED
WOULD LIKE TO WORK MORE HOURS
Average hours of work per week: Self-employed (45h); Open-ended (37.6h); Fixed-term (35.3h) and agency work (34.4h)
Source: IDEA Consult based on microdata from Eurofound EWCS 2010 (microdata received from UK Data)

2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 71

5

SATISFACTION AND MOTIVATIONOF AGENCY WORKERS

ProfileOF AGENCY WORKERS:

Agency workers havedifferent profiles anddifferent reasons to choose
agency work
The wide range of reasons for workers
to choose agency work can beclassified in 5 general profiles. Thesemay help understand the motivationsof agency workers ...better. Each of thereasons may apply to one or several ofthese profiles:• Career starters
to find a permanent job

CAREER STARTERS

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS

Top 3 reasons for choosing agency work

As astepping stone
to permanentwork

To earn an
additional
income2

13BE(2014)

Agency work
allowed me
to find work
quickly

Couldn’tfind apermanentjobTogain usefulworkingexperience

2

1
3
FR
(2013)

Lookingfor different
professional
experiences
before settlingfor one• Young professionals
looking for valuable experience• Flex professionals
using agency work to findassingments, not necessarily
looking for a permanent job• Extra earners
looking for a source of additional
income.
• The re-launchers
using agency work to fill a gap intheir career, moving from one job or
sector to another.
72 / Ciett / 2015 Economic ReportWasunable to finda permanentjob

2It’s a way
to get apermanent
job

1
3
US
(2014)

To
obtain work
experience

This wasthe only typeof work I
could find2

It is hard to
get a directcontract

1
3
CO(2013)

I want touse it to finda permanentjob

FLEX PROFESSIONALSEXTRA EARNERS

Agencywork is a good
gateway toworking life

Being anagency worker
is easier thangetting a different
kind of job

2

1

NO 3

RE-LAUNCHERS

Otherwise I
would be outof work

I canchoose theworking hours
and location

Want tosee different
workplaces andgain all-roundwork experience

2

1

FI

3

I
can earnadditional
income(2012)(2012/2013)

To find work
quickly

I could not findpermanent work

2

1

UK
(2014)

3

To earn money
quickly

As astepping stone
to permanentwork

To earn an
additional
income

2

1

SE 3

To
gain usefulworkingexperience(2011/2012)

Note: the profiles are adapted from a survey
among agency workers done by IDEA Consult
for Federgon: Enquete uitzendkrachten 2013.
January 2014. (available in French & Dutch onwww.federgon.be).
Source: Ciett national federation members2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 73

ANNEXES

74 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 75

ABOUT CIETT
As the international confederation ofprivate employment services, Ciett is theauthoritative voice REPRESENTING THE
INTERESTS OF THE AGENCY WORK INDUSTRY
across the world.
Founded in 1967, Ciett consists of
50 NATIONAL FEDERATIONS of private
employment agencies and eight of thelargest staffing companies worldwide:
Adecco, GI Group, Kelly Services, ManpowerGroup, Randstad, Recruit, Trenkwalder and USG People.
76 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

Its members provide 61 MILLIONWORKERS with access to the labour market
each year, 40 million of whom work inagency work. Worldwide, OVER 1.6 MILLIONPEOPLE WORK IN AN EMPLOYMENT ORRECRUITMENT AGENCY.
Ciett’s main objective is to help its
members conduct their businesses in a
LEGAL AND REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT thatis positive and supportive.

Ciett is divided into six regionalorganisations: Africa/Near East, Northern
Asia, Southern Asia, North America,
South America [CLETT&A], and Europe[Eurociett].

THE WAY TO WORK; A JOB FOR EVERYPERSON, A PERSON FOR EVERY JOB
is the unified vision for the global
employment & recruitment industry.
It reflects the industry’s unique positionin building better labour markets andproviding work opportunities and hope
to millions of people every day.

2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 77CIETT MEMBERSNORTH AMERICA
CanadaMexicoUSA

SOUTH AMERICA
Argentina
BrazilChile
Colombia
Perú

78 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

AFRICA

MoroccoSouth Africa
ZambiaEUROPE

Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
FinlandFranceGermany
GreeceHungary
IrelandItaly
LatviaLithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Netherlands
NorwayPolandPortugal

Romania
RussiaSlovakia
Slovenia
Spain
SwedenSwitzerland
TurkeyUK

NORTHERN ASIA
China
Japan
South Korea

SOUTHERN ASIA

Australia
India
Indonesia
New ZealandVietnam
The Philippines

2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 79&

GLOSSARY OF USED TERMS
AND ACRONYMS
Agency work

AW is a triangular employment relationship, defined in ILO Convention 181 as:"Services consisting of employing workers with a view to making them available
to a third party, who may be a natural or legal person ("user enterprise") whichassigns their tasks and supervises the execution of these tasks“Private employment services / Employment &recruitment industry

Daily average number of agency workers (FTE)

Total number of hours worked by all agency workers in a country over a periodof one year divided by the average number of hours worked over a period of one
year by a worker with a full-time job with an open-ended contract

Agency work is usually one of several other HR services provided byrecruitment and employment agencies, along with permanent recruitment,
outplacement, training, executive search, skills assessments and more. The
broad range of these services are called private employment services. The
agency provides a professional service to a user company by taking over (a partof) the recruitment and HR process. In this sense, private employment services
are comparable to other professional services such as accounting, security or
cleaning.

Outplacement

Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)

Penetration rate

Search & selection

A service to guide a terminated employee of a company to a satisfactory new
position or career through the provision of short- or long-term counselingand support services, on a group or individual basis, most often paid for by theterminating employer. (Source: Staffing Industry Analysts)

Daily average number of agency workers [in full-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, such as one week or one day, were in the following categories:a) paid employment (whether at work or with a job but not at work); orb) self-employment (whether at work or with an enterprise but not at work).“

80 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report

A service by a third-party specialist provider, to assume the role of the client’s
recruiting department by owning and managing part or all of its recruitment
process and related recruitment supply chain partner relationships, provide thenecessary skills, activities, tools, technologies, and process methodologies.

Also called (permanent) recruitment. Services for matching offers of andapplications 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.

DATA GATHERING /METHODOLOGY
The vast majority of graphs and charts in thiseconomic report were compiled using the datathat Ciett members report to the Ciett secretariat
in an annual data gathering exercise. While
the Ciett secretariat will try its utmost to verify
the data, ultimately Ciett members remain
responsible for the correctness of the data.
Sometimes these members have their own tools tocollect data, sometimes they rely for example on
government statistics.
In its data collection Ciett tries as much as
possible to work with one set of definitions (e.g.
what should be counted as agency work, how tomeasure the number of FTE’s etc.). Wheneverdefinitions are different, this is indicated in afootnote on the page. See Annex III for definitions.

If a specific number is not available for acountry, we may use results from previous years
to be able to present a broader picture. Thisis always indicated in a footnote. If a country
is not included in a graph (e.g. on permanent
recruitment), mostly it does not mean there is no
incidence (of permanent recruitment in this case),
but rather that there is no data available.
The graphs and charts in this economic report
may – for simplification purposes – not always
show all the available data. Researchers orjournalists who are interested in underlying
data can contact the Ciett communications &economic affairs adviser Menno Bart at
menno.bart@ciett.org.

2015 Economic Report / Ciett / 81selected
external RESOURCES
LIST OF

Flex appeal – why freelancers, contractors and agency workers choose to work
this way. Recruitment & Employment Confederation, 2014. https://www.rec.
uk.com/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/155562/Flex-Appeal-2014.pdf
Recruitment Industry Trends 2013/14 (REC). https://www.rec.uk.com/newsand-policy/research/recruitment-industry-trends-2013-2014.
ASA staffing employee survey. American Staffing Association, 2014. https://americanstaffing.net/staffing-research-data/asa-staffing-industry-data/
staffing-employee-survey/
Study on precarious work and social rights, carried out for the European
Commission. Working lives research Institute, Faculty of social sciences& humanities, London Metropolitan University. www.ec.europa.eu/social/
BlobServlet?docId=7925&langId=en
Largest Global Staffing Firms 2014, Staffing Industry Analysts, http://www.
staffingindustry.com/site_member/Research-Publications/Research-Topics/
Region-North-America/Global-Staffing-100
The Global Staffing Industry 2013, Staffing Industry Analysts, http://www.
staffingindustry.com/eng_member/Research-Publications/Research-Topics/
Region-Europe/Global-Staffing-2013
Recruitment Process Outsourcing Insights, Staffing Industry Analysts,
November 2014. http://www.staffingindustry.com/Research-Publications/Publications/CWS-3.0/November-19-2014/SIA-research-Recruitment-processoutsourcing-insights

82 / Ciett / 2015 Economic Report2014 Temporary Workers Survey: Preferences, Satisfaction and Agency
Selection & Cumulative Index to 2009-2013 Surveys, Staffing Industry Analysts
http://www.staffingindustry.com/site_member/Research-Publications/
Research-Topics/Region-North-America/2014-Temporary-WorkersSurvey#sthash.Vgsph98k.dpuf
Il mondo del lavoro e I contratti di somministrazione. Ipsos public affairs for
Assolavoro, 2014.
Regards Croisés sur l’interim. Observatoire des métiers et de l’emploi, 2013.
http://www.observatoire-travail-temporaire.com/index.php#publication
Adapting to Change – How private emoloyment services facilitate adaptation
to change, better labour markets and decent work. BCG for Ciett, 2012. http://
www.ciett.org/fileadmin/templates/ciett/docs/Stats/Adapting_to_Change/
CIETT_Adapting_to_Change.pdf
Statistics Japan, statistics bureau, ministry of internal affairs &communications. Employee by age group & type of employment. Dowloaded on
30 October 2014. http://www.stat.go.jp/data/roudou/longtime/zuhyou/lt01-b20.
xls
Enquete uitzendkrachten 2013. January 2014. IDEA consult at the request ofFedergon (available in French & Dutch). http://www.federgon.be/uitzendarbeid/
profiel-van-de-uitzendkrachten-2014/profiel-van-de-uitzendkrachten-2014/
Prism’Emploi Rapport Économique & Social 2013. http://www.prismemploi.eu/
magazine/rapport-annuel-2013/

COUNTRY CODES (1)ARGENTINA

AR

MACEDONIAMK

AUSTRALIAAUMEXICOMX

AUSTRIAAT

MOROCCOMA

BELGIUM

BE

NEPAL

NP

BRAZILBR

NETHERLANDSNLBULGARIABG

NEW ZEALAND

NZ

CANADACANORWAY

NO

CHILE

CL

PERÚ

PE

CHINA

CN

POLANDPL

COLOMBIACOPORTUGALPTCZECH REPUBLICCZROMANIARO

DENMARKDKRUSSIARU

ESTONIAEE

SINGAPORESG

FINLANDFISLOVAKIASKFRANCEFRSLOVENIASIGERMANYDE

SOUTH AFRICAZAGREECEGR

SOUTH KOREAKRHUNGARY

HU

SPAIN

ES

INDIA

IN

SWEDENSE

IRELANDIE

SWITZERLAND

CH

ITALY

IT

TURKEY

TR

JAPAN

JP

UK

UK

LATVIA

LV

USA

US

LITHUANIALTZAMBIAZM

LUXEMBOURG

LU(1) The International Organisation for Standardisation ISO: the international standard forcountry codes ISO 3166

CONTACT US

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Avenue du Port 86c - Box 302
B 1000 - Brussels info@ciett.org
www.ciett.org Follow us on

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@Ciett_waytowork