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Flexible Staffing: A Boon for American Businesses

Temporary and contract staffing brings companies the flexibility and access to talent they need to hone their competitive edge. Here are some things others are saying about staffing’s valuable role, and some key staffing statistics.

In a survey of staffing firm clients, nine out of 10 agree that “staffing companies offer flexibility to businesses so that they can keep fully staffed during busy times.” i


“The temporary help industry helped to increase employment in manufacturing by allowing firms to expand their labor forces in the face of uncertain demand conditions.”

Employment Policies Instituteii


According to an American Management Association survey, 91% of human resource managers rate flexibility in staffing issues as important, and 95% use temporary and contract employees to achieve that flexibility.iii


More than 20% of staffing employees used by American companies fill professional-managerial roles.iv


A survey of Conference Board members—mostly global companies—found that 90% use staffing services.v

“Increased reliance on contingent (i.e., temporary and part-time) labor…is associated with superior subsequent performance…[and] no increase in systematic risk. We believe our evidence supports the contention that the practice of using contingent workers improves gross profit margins.”

Decision Sciencesvi


On the average day, 3 million temporary and contract employees go to work for American businesses.vii

Of the 12.1 million temporary and contract employees hired by U.S. staffing firms in 2005, more than 5.5 million moved into permanent positions.viii Staffing employees are a rich talent pool to fill permanent jobs.
   
   

 
i 2004 American Staffing Association survey.
 
ii Source: Marcello Estevao and Saul Lach, “Measuring Temporary Labor Outsourcing in U.S. Manufacturing,” Employment Policies Institute, November 2001.
iii American Management Association, “1999 AMA Survey, Contingent Workers, Summary of Findings.”
iv American Staffing Association analysis of unpublished data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 2001 data.
v Contingent Employment,” HR Executive Review, Vol. 3, No. 2, The Conference Board, 1995.
vi Source: Nandkumar Nayar and G. Lee Willinger, “Financial Implications of the Decision to Increase Reliance on Contingent Labor,” Decision Sciences, Vol. 32, No. 4, Fall 2001.
vii American Staffing Association, “Employment and Sales Survey Report, Fourth Quarter 2005,” February 27, 2006.
viii Steven P. Berchem, “A Profile of Temporary and Contract Employees: Who They Are and What They Do,” American Staffing Association, 2006.