Temporary employment refers to an employment relationship in which a company places or 'lends' an employee to a third party (temporary employment agency).
Such a tri-partite relationship can have both advantages and disadvantages for employees: On the one hand, it may provide a way out of unemployment. Additionally, temporary employment often allows people to get to know several different companies within a short period. On the other hand, the duration of employment is markedly shorter, indicating a lower stability of employment and a related higher uncertainty in terms of salaries.
The indicator examines the share of temporary staff in all employees over 25 years.
2.5% of the employed are temporary employees
In 2019, 2.5% of the employees were employed by temporary employment agencies. Temporary employment showed a dynamic increase from 2009 to 2010 from 2.1% to 2.7%. This increase can be explained on the one hand by the economic crisis. On the other hand, the amendment of the Act on the Protection of Employment and Stability made it possible to make use of short-time work in temporary employment. Between 2010 and 2016, the proportion of temporary and agency employees remained largely constant. After a slight increase of 0.3 percentage points in 2017, the proportion in 2019 declined by 0.2 percentage points.
Temporary employment as full-time job
This activity was a full-time job for most of the temporary employed surveyed in 2019: 82.5% of them reported to do temporary work as a full-time job. Only 17.5% worked part time. In comparison to this the part time rate of all employed is at 28.8%.
| Age from … to … years | Total | Female | Male |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1: Temporary employees aged above 25 years. / = No response, because numerical value is not reliable enough. Source: Labour Force Survey. | |||
| 25 to 34 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 4.5 |
| 35 to 44 | 2.6 | 1.9 | 3.3 |
| 45 to 54 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.8 |
| 55 to 64 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 2.4 |
| 65 and older | 1.0 | / | / |
| Total | 2.5 | 1.8 | 3.2 |
Temporary employed are often middle-aged men
Considering men and women separately, it is striking that men are almost twice as likely to be temporarily employed as women: about two thirds of the persons employed in a temporary employment agency are men, one third are women.
Temporary work often in craft trades and unskilled workers
This high proportion of men is also reflected in the occupational fields in which temporary employees are primarily employed. The majority of the temporary employed surveyed were craft workers or worked in related occupations (20.8%), where usually more men are found. The second biggest group is unskilled employees with a share of 20.6%. At some distance, they were followed by plant and machine operators and assemblers, with 13.8% and technicians and associate professionals with 12.9%.
The largest share of temporary employed is found among the 25 to 34-year-olds: 4.5% of all employed men and 2.3% of women in employment are employed as temporary employees in this age group.
Information on the Indicator
Description or definition
Percentage of temporary agency employees (over 25 years) in all employees (over 25 years).
Source
Labour Force Survey.
Information for interpretation
Temporary agency employees are captured in the Labour Force Survey by a separate question (self-assessment of respondents).
In the last few years, the methodology of the labour force survey has been continuously improved in terms of employment status coverage. Therefore comparisons over time are partly limited. Methodological changes affecting the results were performed especially in 2005 and, more currently, for the years from 2011. Consequently, the results for those years can be compared with the results for previous years to a limited extent only.
In the context of the current changes, the extrapolation of microcensus data uses the population figures from the 2011 Census, which was conducted as at 9 May 2011. The results have been revised from 2010 onwards. With effect from the year 2016, the sample is based on the 2011 census data. This transition affects the comparability of the results with previous years.
For more information please refer to Methods: Quality Reports and Explanations (only in German).