The uncertain economic environment means that companies and organisations are reducing their workforces and recruiting less. However, this has not impacted on their use of temporary staff, which continues at the same pace as before. This is evident from recent statistics from staffing agencies across Sweden, which show that the industry is growing.

In a press release, Bemanningsfӧretagen (the Federation of Swedish Staffing Agencies) states that the staffing industry has a very important function in the labour market and it has been an intrinsic part of the Swedish labour market for more than 20 years.

In the last quarter, the industry as a whole reported growth. Companies and organisations need to hire people on short- and long-term contracts, which accounts for 91% of total revenue for the industry.

The staffing industry employs 135,000 people across virtually every profession. The largest sector in terms of sales during the third quarter was Industrial/Manufacturing with 27%. This was followed by Warehousing/Logistics (20%), Office/Administration (14%), and Finance (9%). The biggest changes during the third quarter was a +14% growth in the Healthcare sector and +10% growth in the Warehousing/Logistics sector, compared with the same period last year. The sharpest decline was reported in the Office/Administration sector with -13%.

Henrik Bäckström, Director of Bemanningsfӧretagen, commented: “The biggest change in the use of staffing services was in Northern Sweden, where sales increased by +10% during the period. Overall, revenue in the industry grew by +0.7% with net sales of SEK 5.13 billion (€575 million).”

“The increased use of staffing services shows a considerable need for efficient, secure, and effective solutions in the labour market. This is particularly true in situations where employers have difficulty managing the development of their own staff. Without access to staffing agencies, the care sector and community services, such as tax authorities and social insurance bodies, as well as basic industries, manufacturing, and many other parts of society would have their wings clipped,” Mr Bäckström concluded.

To read the full report, please click here. (Swedish only).