Staffing firms in Germany saw fluctuating demand for temporary workers in the summer months according to new statistics. The number of agency workers increased by +2.4% to 884,000 in July from June, but dropped again in August by -1.9% to 867,000.

In August 2011, Germany saw record figures with 909,000 agency workers employed in the staffing industry. Year-on-year, this number has declined by -4.6% in August 2012.

Data from the IW research institute and the German association of staffing firms (BAP) indicate that recruiters fared better in July with companies of all sizes reporting an increase in the number of temporary staff, this growing overall by +1.8% against the previous month.

Small companies, employing less than 50 temporary staff, saw their monthly intake rise by +2.3% in July, compared to a +2.6% increase among medium-sized firms and +1.8% for large companies.

But growth slowed in August as the total number of agency staff was up by only +0.1% from the previous month. Small companies reported the sharpest fall (-4.3%), followed by medium-sized (-2.4%). Large companies reported a small plus of +0.3%. 

Temporary billings in terms of hours worked was up +11.4% in July but declined by -5.5% in August month-on-month.

But overall staffing providers increased the number of agency workers within their companies by +5.8% when compared to the same time in 2011. Regions showing the strongest yearly growth include Spessart/Tauber (+28.8%), Weser-Ems (+26.3%), Landshut/Ingolstadt (+21.5%), as well as Hamburg (+19.7%). The sharpest fall was seen in Rhein-Neckar/Karlsruhe (-18.4%), Saarland/Pfalz (-14.9%) and Rhein-Main (-8.2%).