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The Temporary Staffing Industry and Workforce Development: Assessing a System of Local Experiments

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Listed:
  • Marc Doussard

    (Center for Urban Economic Development, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA)

  • Nik Theodore

    (Urban Planning and Policy Program & Center for Urban Economic Development, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA)

Abstract

Local workforce authorities in liberal market states are increasingly charged with mitigating long-term unemployment rooted in macroeconomic forces beyond their immediate control. In the US, and now elsewhere, these authorities have begun to establish partnerships with the temporary staffing industry as a means of extending their limited resources and improving job placement outcomes. Such partnerships are especially prominent in the US, where the Department of Labor has sanctioned policy experiments between local workforce authorities and the temporary staffing industry. In order to appraise these experiments, we present case-study evaluations of three diverse and highly touted employment schemes undertaken by American workforce authorities in conjunction with temporary staffing agencies. We find that under even the most favourable circumstances, the modest mechanisms of these programmes are unable to produce appreciable impacts within local labour markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Marc Doussard & Nik Theodore, 2006. "The Temporary Staffing Industry and Workforce Development: Assessing a System of Local Experiments," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 21(3), pages 264-278, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:loceco:v:21:y:2006:i:3:p:264-278
    DOI: 10.1080/02690940600808230
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Julia Lane & Kelly S. Mikelson & Pat Sharkey & Doug Wissoker, 2003. "Pathways to work for low-income workers: The effect of work in the temporary help industry," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(4), pages 581-598.
    2. Chris Forde & Gary Slater, 2005. "Agency Working in Britain: Character, Consequences and Regulation," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 43(2), pages 249-271, June.
    3. Nik Theodore & Jamie Peck, 2002. "The Temporary Staffing Industry: Growth Imperatives and Limits to Contingency," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 78(4), pages 463-493, October.
    4. Iain Campbell & John Burgess, 2001. "Casual Employment in Australia and Temporary Employment in Europe: Developing a Cross-National Comparison," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 15(1), pages 171-184, March.
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