The temp agency market - France (2024)

1.2 The global market

Evolution of the global temping market World, **** - ****, in billions of USD Source: ****

The size of the global temping market was USD *** billion in ****. According to forecasts, it is set to increase steadily over the coming years. The market is expected to grow at a rate of *% per year over the **** decade, reaching a size of $*** billion in ****.

Share of temporary employment in total dependent employment France, ****, in Source: ****

The graph above shows the percentage of temporary employment in total salaried employment for the five countries most dependent on temporary employment, France and the OECD.

At the top of the scale, we find the Netherlands with a percentage of **.*%, making it the country with the highest rate of temporary employment among the seven entities analyzed. South Korea is a very close second, with a rate of **.*%.

Colombia and Chile have very similar rates, at **.*% and **.*% respectively. These figures are slightly lower than those of the Netherlands and South Korea, but still significantly high. Spain completes the top *, with a significantly lower rate of temporary employment (***).

With an interim employment rate of **.*%, France ranks tenth.

Finally, the OECD has a clearly lower rate of temporary employment, at **.*%.

Below is a table listing ...

1.3 French market

below is a graph showing the evolution of the temping market sales index.

Temporary employment market sales index France, **** - ****, index base *** in **** Source: ****

There has been a steady rise in the index, and therefore in sales, between **** and ****. This rise came to an abrupt halt in ****, as containment forced a large proportion of activity to come to a halt. The following year, however, the market got a second wind and started to rise again. This growth continued into ****, by which time the market had surpassed its pre-pandemic size.

To calculate sales for ****, we simply cross-produce the sales figures published by INSEE for **** with the sales indices for **** and ****. This gives us (***) :

** *** *** * ***.** / *** = **.**

This means that in ****, pre-tax sales for the temporary employment market in France will be €**.** billion. Repeating this formula for each year gives the following sales trend :

Change in temping market sales France, **** - ****, in billions of euros Source: ****

2.1 Demand driven by the secondary and tertiary sectors

in August ****, there were *,***,*** temporary workers. This figure was slightly down on the start of the year (***). However, this decline seems more seasonal than trend-related, since the average number of temps per year is relatively constant.

Breakdown of temporary staff by sector France, ****, in Source: ****

The breakdown of temporary staffing levels in August **** reflects strong demand from the service sector, consistent with the preponderance of this sector in the current French economy. The service sector accounts for **% of all temporary staff, followed by the secondary sector (***).

However, this breakdown of temporary staff should be seen in the context of total employment statistics:

Share of people employed in different sectors France, ****, in Source: ****

The tertiary sector accounts for almost **% of total employment, while the secondary sector accounts for **% and the primary sector for *.*%. As a result, secondary sector workers are over-represented in temporary employment (***), to the detriment of tertiary and primary sector workers.

2.2 Demand focused on blue-collar workers

Breakdown of temporary staff by qualification France, March ****, in Source: ****

The vast majority of temporary workers are blue-collar workers (***). Employees account for just **% of the workforce, and managers and professionals for **%. The needs of companies using temporary employment agencies are therefore highly targeted. Temporary employment is not at all representative of total employment, as the following graph shows:

Breakdown of workforce by category France, ****, in Source: ****

Blue-collar workers represent just **% of the workforce , while white-collar workers account for the majority, with over a quarter (***). The breakdown of temporary jobs is therefore very different from that of total employment.

2.3 Temporary work as a consequence of a mismatch between supply and demand on the labor market

The following graph shows the evolution of the job vacancy rate. The sample covers private-sector companies with ** or more employees.

Vacancy rate trend France, **** - **** Source: ****

This rate should be considered in comparison with the unemployment rate:

Unemployment rate trend France, **** - ****, in Source: ****

Job vacancies "are vacant positions, newly created or unoccupied, or still occupied and about to become vacant, for which active steps are being taken to find a suitable candidate. The desired recruitment may correspond to a permanent contract (***), or a seasonal job, even for a short period."

The vacancy rate rose between the end of **** and the end of ****. It rose from *.*% to *.*%, then fell to *.*%. this dynamic illustrates a mismatch between supply and demand on the labor market, since unemployment has not been reduced to a structural rate over this period (***). The supply of jobs therefore does not match the expectations of the available workforce. Although the unemployment rate is falling, the vacancy rate is not following the same trend.

To compensate for this, companies with staff shortages can turn to temporary employment agencies to find solutions to their recruitment problems. As a result, the vacancy rate becomes a motive for demand on the temping ...

3.1 Simplified diagram of market structure

Source: ****

3.2 Number of establishments and employees

The data presented in this section are extracted from the URSSAF website, using NAF code ****Z corresponding to "activities of temporary employment agencies".

Number of temporary employment agencies France, **** - ****, in units Source: ****

Data analysis shows a steady increase in the number of temporary employment agencies over the past decade. In ****, the number of establishments stood at **,***, and has risen each year to reach **,*** in ****. The most significant growth was seen between **** and ****, with an increase of over *,*** agencies. Despite minor fluctuations, the general trend over this period was one of sustained growth in the number of temporary employment agencies.

The number of employees in the sector generally followed this upward trend, but experienced more fluctuations:

Number of employees in temporary employment agencies France, **** - ****, in units Source: ****

Analysis of the data shows a general upward trend in the number of employees in the temporary employment agency sector from **** to ****. In ****, the number of employees was ***,***; this figure has risen significantly to ***,*** in ****. However, there have been annual fluctuations. For example, a drop was observed in **** with ***,*** employees, followed by a significant increase in **** with ***,*** employees. The peak was reached in **** with ***,*** employees, before declining slightly in ****.

In ****, the number of ...

3.3 A relatively uneven concentration of temporary workers

Number of temporary workers by region of temporary employment establishment France, August ****, in units Source: ****

The distribution of temporary workers by region of the temporary work establishment is relatively heterogeneous. Île-de-France is the region with the highest concentration of temporary workers, with ***,*** temporary workers in August ****. Auvergne Rhône-Alpes follows with ***,*** temps. Hauts-de-France completes the podium with just over **,*** temps.

Corsica is the least prolific region, with just *** temps in August ****.

Below is a graph showing the breakdown of temps by region of the user establishment:

Number of temps by region of user establishment France, August ****, in units Source: ****

Overall, we find the same breakdown as for temps by temporary employment establishment. The vast majority of temporary workers therefore work in the same region as the temporary employment agency that provides them with their assignments.

4.1 Duration of proposed assignments

Average length of temporary assignments by sector of activity France, ****, in weeks Source: ****

Analysis of the data shows that the average duration of temporary work assignments in France varies according to sector of activity. The construction sector has the highest average duration, at *.** weeks. By comparison, the service and agricultural sectors have shorter average durations, at *.** and *.** weeks respectively. For all sectors, the average duration is *.** weeks.

Trend in average length of temporary work assignments France, **** - ****, in weeks Source: ****

The average duration of temping assignments in weeks has seen minor fluctuations over the past five years. In ****, the average duration was *.** weeks, rising slightly to *.** weeks in ****. In ****, a notable increase was recorded, with an average of *.** weeks. However, in ****, this duration fell to *.** weeks before returning to *.** weeks in ****.

4.2 Typology of proposed missions

As we saw in Part *, demand for temporary workers is driven by the tertiary and secondary sectors. In fact, as the market is tripartite, the supply offered by temporary employment agencies depends on the needs of user companies. This section therefore focuses on the types of assignments offered by temporary employment agencies and their characteristics.

Average number of temporary employment contracts signed per month, by sector France, January - August ****, in units Source: ****

The supply of temporary work is therefore mainly in the service sector, as the vast majority of user companies are in the service sector. On average, over one million contracts per month have been signed with service sector companies since January. Industry , however, is still very present in the contracts signed in ****, with an average of almost *,*** contracts signed per month.

4.3 Supply trends: temporary employment contracts

"The CDI intérimaire came into force following the national agreement of July **, ****. This new type of employment contract alternates periods of carrying out assignments and periods without activity known as "intermission periods", without the employment contract being broken."[***]

This format has enjoyed growing success since its inception, as evidenced by the evolution of the workforce employed on such a contract:

Change in the number of employees on temporary CDI contracts France, **** - ****, in units Source: ****

It is possible to observe a general upward trend in the number of employees on temporary open-ended contracts between **** and ****. The biggest increase was seen between **** and ****, when the workforce rose from *,*** to *,***, an almost fivefold increase. This growth continued significantly until ****, when the workforce reached a peak of ***** employees on temporary permanent contracts. In ****, there is a slight increase to ***** employees, representing more moderate growth than in previous years.

In ****, growth resumes with a total of ***** employees. However, a slight decline is observed in ****, with ***** employees, representing a decrease of around *.*% compared to ****. This is the first decline observed over the analysis period.

Despite this slight drop in ****, the overall trend over the ****-**** period shows a significant increase in the number of employees ...

4.4 Methods for building loyalty among user companies and temporary workers

as the intermediary between user companies and temporary workers, temporary employment agencies have to reconcile the needs of companies and temporary workers.

Attracting and retaining temporary workers

To attract workers, agencies sometimes offer optional services in addition to their legal obligations. More than just an intermediary, today's temporary employment agency aims to make life easier for its workers.

To recruit new workers, for example, some companies set up a sponsorship system . The temporary worker who succeeds in bringing in new workers receives a certain sum for each new worker he or she convinces to join the agency. One example is Staffmatch, which offers €** per sponsored temp.

Some agencies are also banking on the total digitalization of their services, for reasons of simplicity and to reach a younger clientele of workers. Mission offers and contracts are dematerialized, which saves a significant amount of time.

Finally, more and more agencies are offering training courses to their temporary workers. This is a real advantage when it comes to obtaining certain assignments, and also enables user companies to recruit for more technical positions.

Building loyalty and finding new user companies

Some agencies decide to specialize in a particular sector, to meet a specific demand from ...

5.1 Current regulations

Reasons for using temporary work

A company may use temporary staff only for specific, temporary tasks, without intending to fill a permanent position linked to its normal, permanent activity. The law sets out an exhaustive list of cases in which the use of temporary staff is authorized. A framework agreement has been signed to promote the employment of disabled people in the temporary employment sector. However, there are some situations in which the use of temporary work is prohibited, such as replacing employees on strike, after redundancy, or for the performance of certain specific jobs. [***]

Contract duration and renewal

At the end of ****, the law on the functioning of the labor market abolished the maximum duration of ** months for a temporary assignment[***]

Whatever the nature of the term of the assignment contract, precise or indefinite, it may be renewed twice, provided that the total duration of the contract, including renewals, does not exceed the authorized limit. The terms and conditions of this renewal must be defined in a clause incorporated into the employment contract or in a rider. A rider is a supplementary document to the contract, recording a modification, adaptation or addition agreed by both parties, and which is offered ...

6.1 Segmentation

• Adecco Group
• Ergalis (Actual Groupe)
• Proman
• Interaction Groupe
• Temporis
• Triangle Intérim
• Adéquat
• Randstad
• Manpower Group
• Groupe CRIT
• DLSI Groupe
• Camo Emploi
• Pixid
• Artus interim