The number of temporary workers in Germany fell by approximately 10% in the second half of 2018 when compared to the same period in the previous year, according to research from professional services firm PwC, citing data from the German Federal Employment Agency.

The research, which also interviewed 36 German temporary work agencies with annual sales of more than €1 million, found that for the full year 2019, the temporary employment industry expects an additional decline in market volume by 3%.

PwC added that the number of temporary workers could stabilise again from 2020, although it will no longer match the level of 2017, when more than 1 million people in Germany were employed as temporary employees.

"The negative macroeconomic development and the pressure on key German industries such as the automotive industry are already noticeable in the temporary work industry," Ralph Niederdrenk, Partner, Leader Deals Strategy Germany at PwC, said.

"Temporary work agencies need a clear strategic direction to position themselves in a difficult market environment, by focusing on an innovative business model such as an online platform, or by specializing in the industry or digitizing their value chain," Niederdrenk said.

In July 2019, Germany’s Federal Employment Agency (BA) and the Federal Employers' Association of Personnel Service Providers (BAP) published data which showed that on average in 2018, approximately one million temporary workers were employed in Germany, a decrease of 32,000, or 3%.

For more on the staffing market in Germany, refer to Staffing Industry Analysts’ report ‘Overview of the German Staffing Market’.