Temporary employees earn approximately 20% less than those in permanent jobs doing similar work, reports the Irish Times with data from the Workplace Relations Commission. Despite the difference in wages, the Economic and Social Research Institute found that temp employees did not have any lower satisfaction than those on permanent contracts. “The evidence would point to some sort of trade-off taking place. It looks, in particular, as if people opt for these temporary type of contracts in order to gain essential experience within their occupations,” Seamus McGuinness of the ESRI said. Data from the ESRI showed that contingent employment accounted for about 10% of the overall workforce in Ireland.