The average number of hours worked by agency workers across Europe grew 2.3% year-on-year compared with the same period last year according to the latest agency work business indicator (AWBI) for September from Eurociett.

France and the Netherlands showed the strongest growth both at +7% and Belgium followed with a growth of +6.6%. Switzerland and Italy continue to show a decline in numbers year-on-year while Norway has stabilised at 0%. Up to date data from Denmark was not available and data for Germany is not included due to changes in the collection process at the federal employment agency.

Agency work sales revenues for the latest period reveal solid growth across all markets including Norway, which experiences growth for the first time in several years. Poland is the star performer with 17% growth year on year with Sweden also showing a strong performance at 10% YoY growth. Finland records 8.2% growth, with both The Netherlands and Belgium showing 8%.

Austria has shown consistent positive growth versus the previous year for more than six months now. It is also recording a growth in hours worked for the third consecutive quarter.

In Belgium, in comparison with April, temporary agency work  grew by 2.69% in May 2016. Both the blue collar and white collar segments grew, recording an uplift of 3.82% and 4.40% respectively.

In July, France’s temporary turnover increased by 7,5% (year on year and seasonally adjusted). Number of temps at work grew by 7%. In August, number of temps at work rose by 3,1% after 4,6% in July.

Finland has changed the way in which it collects its data on agency hours worked this year hence Eurociett is not able to compare year-on-year data until January 2017. However, July figures on evolution of turnover show a slowdown on the previous month.Germany is not included in this month’s AWBI as validated figures for the latest period are not possible due to a change in the data from the federal employment agency. It is hoped that Germany will return to the Indicator in the autumn when reliable data is once again available.

In period 7 (week 25 – 28) in The Netherlands, the total number of hours increased 7% and turnover grew 8%, in comparison to the same period last year. This period had an equal amount of workable days compared to the same period last year, so no correction was applied. In Norway ,the agency work market now seems to stabilise following a decline of 13 consecutive quarters. The invoiced work hours in Q2 were at the same level as the year before and sales revenue grew by 2.3%. The drop in oil prices has affected the labour market within the oil industry.

In Switzerland, temporary agency work contracted again in July, recording an 8.6% drop over the previous year. Contraction since the start of the year is -0.3%. A review of the past 12 months indicates a net negative trend. During this period commercial activity fell around 2.2%.

In the UK, agencies’ temporary/contract staff billings continued to rise in July, although the rate of expansion slowed to a ten-month low. A number of panelists indicated that uncertainty following the EU referendum had prompted clients to seek short-term staffing solutions as an alternative to permanent hires.