Spring is a time for
growth, a natural phenomenon reflected by nature, as well as in the economy,
which fortunately is on its way to recovery again after the economic downturn
that started in 2008. A budding economic growth means the employment and
recruitment market is picking up at an increasing rate today.
It is well-known that
there is a strong correlation between the share of flexible labor and economic
growth, particularly with respect to agency
work: an HR service known as staffing in the US or dispatch of workers in
Japan. Flexible labor is the first type of employment that recovers when the
economy stabilizes after a crises. The opportunity to offer agency work even accelerates economic growth and
significantly contributes to job creation. New jobs are blossoming in the era
of recovery, but it is often not known yet whether the new or increased
business activities are sustainable. Agency work is the natural answer to that
demand.
Ciett, the
international confederation for the HR services industry, has recently
published its annual Economic report. For the first time this year, data was
collected for the HR industry as a whole, including such services as agency
work, search & selection, RPO and outplacement. The latest figures, from
2013 and 2014, demonstrate that the total global sales revenue for the entire
employment and recruitment industry is E415 billion, of which agency work
accounts for E282 billion and other HR services now for E 132 billion. This
segment is growing, reflecting the increasing need for diversity on the labor
market.
Our industry is truly
a people's industry: a total number of 60.9 million workers gained access to
the labor market via our worldwide services in 2013. About half of
these employees were under 30 years of age. This, already staggering figure
will most certainly show a further increase in 2014 and 2015.
However, looking at
agency work, which in terms of facts and figures, is the most researched, the
penetration figures are actually quite modest. The penetration rate is the
percentage of the working population that works as an agency worker on a given
day. On a global level we are talking about 1.6% on average in developed labor
markets. The big 3, US, Japan and Europe which account for more than 70% of
global turnover, show penetration rates of 2% in US and Japan and 1.7% in
Europe.
The Ciett report also
emphasizes the added value, the positive contribution of agency work to
well-functioning labor markets. Employment and recruitment agencies enhance
transparency on the labor market, they are ideally positioned to better match
demand and supply, decreasing the so often mentioned global challenges of
increasing skills mismatches; driven by qualitative and quantitative shortages
and surpluses. Higher mobility by quality transitions will support dynamic,
healthy labor markets. Agency work in particular plays an internationally
recognized key role by facilitating such transitions from inactivity to
economic activity: by providing young
people with a decent first job, by bringing back unemployed people to the labor
market, by providing practical, hard and soft skills training, and finally: by
providing for work and employment conditions that are on par with any other
decent form of work.
So let's enjoy the
springtime and the growth that comes along, both in increasing work
opportunities and in nature!