Rapid growth continues in temporary labour market

However, care sector continues to shows a dramatic drop in the reliance of temporary agency labour

 Use of temporary agency labour in the UK is continuing to increase, reveals new data from de Poel, the number one procurer of temporary agency labour. In July, businesses increased its reliance on temporary staff by 21% compared to the same period last year.

However, the care sector continued to show a decrease in its use of temporary agency workers (-14%), mirroring last month’s statistics.  

The data reveals that industries, including waste management, retail and business services have continued to increase their use of temporary staff. This shows a continued reluctance from businesses to hire permanent staff and using temporary agency labour to fill skills gaps when extra staff are needed. These rises come ahead of the introduction of the Agency Workers Regulations in less than two months time.

More information

The data comes ahead of the ONS Labour statistics on Wednesday (Aug 10th), which last month showed a decrease in unemployment in the UK.

The Agency Worker Regulations, which come into force on 1st October, mean that temporary workers will be entitled to the same rights as permanent employees after 12 weeks in a role. Matthew Sanders, CEO of de Poel, explains:

“Many business owners may believe that they can escape these Regulations but if they do not take the relevant precautions and are not prepared, they may be hit financially later this year.

“The data shows that temporary agency workers are a great solution to filling skills gaps in the workforce when short term labour is needed and we expect use of temporary staff to continue to increase on the whole”.

Key facts

1.     The number of hours worked by temporary agency staff increased by 21% in July 2011 compared with July 2010.

2.     Increase in temporary agency labour usage (June 2010- June 2011) by sector:

a.     Waste management 25.21%

b.     Retail 20.05%

c.     Business services 56.31%

d.     Facilities 13.77%

e.     Manufacturing 6.33%

f.      Logistics 35.06%

1.     Decreases of temporary agency labour usage by sector:

a.     Care -14.76%