Help or Hindrance: Temporary Help Agencies and the United States Transitory Workforce

The impact of a Temporary Help Agency (THA) job placement on an employee’s future employment status and labor market income is examined using NLSY79 data for the late 1990s. Several matching estimators provide gender-specific estimates of the effects of temporary agency employment on future employment outcomes. Compared to directhire temps, women’s earnings increase two years after THA employment, while men’s do not. Four years after THA employment, women continue to benefit from THA jobs, while men experience lower earnings and probability of employment. We find THA work does not help men with future income or employability, however, policy encouraging women to use THA firms for labor market re-entry would be beneficial in these two areas.