Key figures
Labour market facts & trends

36 MILLION PEOPLE IN AGENCY WORK IN 2012

The role of our industry – from the Ciett Economic Report 2014

Providing employment for millions

• 11.5 million agency workers were employed daily in 2012
• The USA employs the largest number of agency workers with 11.5 million people gaining employment through agency work each year
• Europe employs 8.2 million people in agency work each year

Whatever their skills levels

• 77% of agency workers have at best finished their secondary education

Giving younger generations the chance to step onto the career ladder

• On average, 61% of agency workers are under 30 years of age

73 million young people are unemployed worldwide

Main trends in the global labour market 

1. Continued high unemployment – above all youth unemployment
2. Skills and geographical mismatch – millions of jobs do not get filled
3. Greater need for flexibility – for companies to remain competitive
4. Fewer jobs for lower skilled workers

EACH YEAR, OUR INDUSTRY PROVIDES 8.3 MILLION PEOPLE
With more work choices through up-skilling

We are well on the way to work!
Annually, our industry…

• Supports 36 million people in their job life
• Helps 12.9 million young people enter the labour market
• Serves 2.3 million companies [1]

35% OF PEOPLE ARE UNEMPLOYED BEFORE, 14%,
AFTER AGENCY WORK

Agency work helps unemployed find jobs and remain in employment

• Agency work is not only a short time solution, but provides a stepping stone into long term employment
• Germany, South Africa, Greece and Sweden are the strongest examples of this stepping stone function of agency work
• 70% of temporary agency work assignments are over 1 month

As an industry, we have made a pledge to up-skill
65 million people

The industry confederation is strengthening that role and we collectively
made 5 pledges in May 2012 to build better labour markets and provide work
opportunities and hope to millions of people every day:

• Support 280 million people in their job life
• Help 75 million young people enter the labour market
• Up-skill 65 million people, giving them more work choices
• Create 18 million more jobs
• Serve 13 million companies with the right talents to succeed [1]

EACH YEAR, OUR INDUSTRY CREATES 3.1 MILLION more JOBS

How our industry creates employment

• Two thirds of organisations would not have created jobs without access to agency work
• Agency work provides a stepping stone from unemployment into work
• A high percentage of agency workers remain in employment after 1 year’s experience [1]

[1]Source: Ciett – ‘The Voice for Labour Choice’ (corporate leaflet) 2014.