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Temporary Employment Agencies: A Route for Immigrants to Enter the Labour Market?

Author

Listed:
  • Andersson Joona, Pernilla

    (SOFI, Stockholm University)

  • Wadensjö, Eskil

    (Stockholm University)

Abstract

We study immigrants in temporary employment agencies in Sweden using a unique data set that covers all aged 16-64 who were employed by temporary employment agencies (TEAs) in Sweden in November 1999, with information on their employment status in 1998 and 2000. We find that young people, women, people living in big cities, and immigrants are overrepresented in the TEAs. Grouping immigrants after origin shows that immigrants from Africa, Asia and South America are greatly overrepresented in the sector. Immigrants are on average slightly older than the natives who work in TEAs, they are more often married, and women are less overrepresented among those born outside of Sweden. The immigrants are overrepresented among those with the lowest education and those with higher education. The mobility between employment status (employed in a TEA, other type of employment, unemployed, studying) differs between immigrants and natives in several respects. One result is that immigrants more often leave a TEA for another type of employment, which could be interpreted as employment in a TEA being used as a stepping stone to the labour market.

Suggested Citation

  • Andersson Joona, Pernilla & Wadensjö, Eskil, 2004. "Temporary Employment Agencies: A Route for Immigrants to Enter the Labour Market?," IZA Discussion Papers 1090, IZA Network @ LISER.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp1090
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. David H. Autor, 2000. "Outsourcing at Will: Unjust Dismissal Doctrine and the Growth of Temporary Help Employment," NBER Working Papers 7557, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Gideon Kunda & Stephen R. Barley & James Evans, 2002. "Why Do Contractors Contract? The Experience of Highly Skilled Technical Professionals in a Contingent Labor Market," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 55(2), pages 234-261, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Andersson Joona, Pernilla & Wadensjö, Eskil, 2004. "Other Forms of Employment: Temporary Employment Agencies and Self-Employment," IZA Discussion Papers 1166, IZA Network @ LISER.
    2. Joakim Hveem, 2013. "Are temporary work agencies stepping stones into regular employment?," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-27, December.
    3. Kvasnicka, Michael, 2005. "Does temporary agency work provide a stepping stone to regular employment?," SFB 649 Discussion Papers 2005-031, Humboldt University Berlin, Collaborative Research Center 649: Economic Risk.
    4. repec:hum:wpaper:sfb649dp2005-031 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Manfred Antoni & Elke J. Jahn, 2009. "Do Changes in Regulation Affect Employment Duration in Temporary Help Agencies?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 62(2), pages 226-251, January.
    6. Dumas, Christelle. & Houdré, Cédric., 2016. "Non-standard forms of employment in Uganda and Ghana," ILO Working Papers 994901783402676, International Labour Organization.
    7. Andrea Ichino & Fabrizia Mealli & Tommaso Nannicini, 2008. "From temporary help jobs to permanent employment: what can we learn from matching estimators and their sensitivity?," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(3), pages 305-327.
    8. Niknami, Susan & Schröder, Lena & Wadensjö, Eskil, 2019. "Ethnic Minority Youths in the Labour Markets in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden," IZA Discussion Papers 12274, IZA Network @ LISER.
    9. Raattamaa, Tomas, 2016. "Essays on Delegated Search and Temporary Work Agencies," Umeå Economic Studies 935, Umeå University, Department of Economics.
    10. Steinar Holden & Åsa Rosén, 2014. "Discrimination And Employment Protection," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 12(6), pages 1676-1699, December.
    11. Nekby, Lena, 2008. "Active labor market programs for the integration of youths and immigrants into the labor market: the Nordic experience," Macroeconomía del Desarrollo 5441, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    12. David H. Autor & Susan N. Houseman, 2010. "Do Temporary-Help Jobs Improve Labor Market Outcomes for Low-Skilled Workers? Evidence from "Work First"," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(3), pages 96-128, July.
    13. Hveem, Joakim, 2012. "Are temporary work agencies stepping-stones into regular employment?," SULCIS Working Papers 2012:3, Stockholm University, Linnaeus Center for Integration Studies - SULCIS.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J40 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - General
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

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