Study examines temporary agency work

Kretsos, Lefteris

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Study examines temporary agency work

Publicado: 29 June 2004

Temporary agency work is a relatively recent phenomenon in Greece, receiving a specific legislative framework as recently as 2001. An April 2004 report from Adecco Hellas, a temporary employment agency, provides data on the characteristics of agency workers and the jobs they fill. Temporary agency work predominantly involves young people entering the labour market for the first time, and their contracts tend to be very short term.

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Temporary agency work is a relatively recent phenomenon in Greece, receiving a specific legislative framework as recently as 2001. An April 2004 report from Adecco Hellas, a temporary employment agency, provides data on the characteristics of agency workers and the jobs they fill. Temporary agency work predominantly involves young people entering the labour market for the first time, and their contracts tend to be very short term.

In late April 2004, one of the largest temporary employment agencies operating in Greece, Adecco Hellas, released a report on the characteristics of temporary agency work. The report was based on data regarding the 3,503 people the company placed in temporary jobs in the greater Athens metropolitan area in 2003. Worth noting is the fact that around 77% of the people Adecco placed in temporary employment were unemployed before placement. Most were placed in low- and semi-skilled jobs, as shown by table 1 below. Also of note was the proportion of office jobs, as almost one in three temporary workers, and over 50% of female temporary workers, found employment in offices.

**Table 1. Temporary agency workers placed by Adecco, by type of job filled, 2003 (% of all workers)**
Job	Total	Men	Women
Office staff	36.28	19.88	50.77
Sales staff	7.50	2.45	11.97
Warehouse supervisors	6.64	11.72	2.16
Warehouse workers	6.02	8.97	3.42
Telephone exchange operators	5.83	4.99	6.57
Unskilled workers	4.21	8.87	0.09

Source: Adecco (2004)

The gender distribution of the workers placed is relatively balanced, with 1,857 women representing 53% of the sample, compared and 1,646 men. Nevertheless, as shown by table 2 below, the age distribution indicates a clear preponderance of the younger age groups. Specifically, 73% of the people the company placed in fixed-duration jobs were young people aged 21-30, and the percentage of placements involving the 18-20 age group was also relatively high.

**Table 2. Temporary agency workers placed by Adecco, by age, 2003 (% of all workers)**
Age	Total	Men	Women
18-20	13.62	16.20	11.34
21-30	72.80	72.88	72.72
31-40	9.14	8.68	9.55
41 and over	4.44	2.24	6.39

Source: Adecco 2004.

The most noteworthy finding of the study is arguably the particularly short duration of temporary agency contracts - see table 3 below. Around 51% of them had duration of less than one month, and only 19% of all contracts had a duration of over three months.

**Table 3. Duration of temporary employment contracts of workers placed by Adecco, 2003 (% of all contracts)**
.	Under 1 month	1-3 months	Over 3 months
Duration of contract	51.05	29.73	19.22

Source: Adecco 2004.

Young people and unemployment

According to the Adecco Hellas commercial manager, H Missailidis, 'temporary jobs are a bridge for unemployed people to access employment and a basic means for them to form bonds with the labour market'. However, the report does not state the total number of fixed-term contracts entered into or the number of such contracts that were renewed.

All the data, including the new Adecco report, indicate that temporary agency work is likely to increase substantially in the future. Adecco, for example, intends to hire out around 4,000 temporary agency workers in summer 2004 as part of the preparations for the Olympic Games and for the Games themselves. By and large, the Adecco study highlights the fact that larger numbers of young people are becoming temporary workers.

This is undoubtedly related to the higher levels of unemployment among young people compared with older workers - see table 4 below. Given both their high rate of unemployment and their increasing tendency to engage in temporary work, young people appear to be at a distinct disadvantage when attempting to enter and remain in employment. In addition, commentators argue that the predominance of temporary employment among young people, who are affected to a greater degree by unemployment, means that temporary work is an involuntary, forced option for labour market entrants.

**Table 4. Age distribution of unemployment, 1993-2002 (%)**
Year	Total rate	15-19	20-24	25-29	30-44	45-64	65
1993	9.67	35.68	27.00	14.01	6.91	3.91	0.81
1994	9.63	34.35	27.54	15.19	6.74	4.12	0.62
1995	10.00	35.54	28.27	16.41	7.00	4.34	0.94
1996	10.34	41.83	29.48	16.89	7.47	4.03	1.11
1997	10.25	39.57	30.25	16.84	7.30	4.40	0.93
1998	10.63	35.40	28.02	16.52	8.03	4.62	1.33
1999	11.62	40.17	29.47	17.98	8.98	5.47	1.34
2000	10.95	37.36	27.51	17.71	9.12	4.77	0.99
2001	10.17	35.44	26.65	16.20	8.33	4.82	1.18
2002	9.63	30.00	25.24	16.13	8.04	4.61	0.72
2003	8.94	29.90	24.38	15.06	7.82	4.04	1.22

Source: ESYE Labour Force Survey.

The findings of the Adecco study, in conjunction with data from the National Statistical Service of Greece (ESYE), might substantiate the hypothesis that temporary agency work helps unemployed people, and unemployed young people in particular, to enter the labour market, at least on a temporary basis. In other words, the problem of unemployment sustains and goes hand in hand with the increase or maintenance of temporary employment at high levels (GR0111101F). It is also characteristic that in recent years the numbers of temporary employment agencies and private placement services have increased significantly. The Adecco report draws the same conclusion, and states that the temporary agency work market in Greece has much room for growth in the future. Data from the Ministry of Labour show that in May 2003 a total of 72 decisions were issued regarding applications to establish and operate temporary employment agencies and branches of agencies, of which only 20 were refused.

Regulation

Temporary employment agencies were first regulated by specific legislation in Greece as recently as 2001, by Law 2956/2001 (GR0111101F). Article 20 of this law defines such agencies as companies whose scope of activity includes the provision of work by their employees to another (indirect) employer in the form of temporary employment . Temporary agency employment means work provided to another employer (the indirect employer) for a limited period of time by employees associated with their employer (the direct employer) under a contract or a relationship of subordination for a fixed or indeterminate period. In order to carry out this activity a special licence must be obtained from the Ministry of Labour, issued under the terms of Presidential Decree 160/1999 on the 'terms, conditions and procedure for the establishment and operation of private employment agencies', following an opinion from the Temporary Employment Control Commission.

Commentary

Temporary employment agencies help to meet enterprises’ needs to obtain staff to meet seasonal and temporary requirements in a cost-efficient manner. However, both the statistical data and experience show that temporary agencies cannot have any substantial impact on the disadvantages encountered by certain groups, such as young people, during the process of entering and remaining in the labour market. In no circumstances can casual employment be a meaningful answer to the problem of unemployment, especially when temporary employment contracts are of an extremely short duration. In these circumstances, a situation of 'recycling' of unemployment and casual employment may arise, which at the same time generate symptoms of job insecurity and social exclusion. (Lefteris Kretsos, INE/GSEE-ADEDY)

A Eurofound recomenda citar esta publicação da seguinte maneira.

Eurofound (2004), Study examines temporary agency work, article.