Which country has the most private employment agencies?
It’s China, according to new research by Ciett, the International Confederation of Private Employment Agencies.
China has the most private employment agencies at 49,000 in 2010, according to the report. That’s more than the three next-largest countries combined — Japan has 20,000 private employment agencies, the U.S. has 13,900 and the U.K. has 11,500.
Ciett’s numbers may not always agree with those of other sources, however. Two other sources, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census, even differ in U.S. counts.
Nevertheless, according to Ciett, there are 128,000 private employment agencies in the world based on data from 37 countries. Places that didn’t appear on the list included large countries such as India and Russia.
It’s surprising China has so many agencies. In the same report last year, Ciett didn’t list the number of Chinese employment agencies. And the sheer number of agencies in China also raises questions: How is a private employment agency defined in China? What does the average Chinese staffing firm look like? What types of workers do they place? The report didn’t have information on the number of contingent workers that China has.
Regardless, if there really are 49,000 agencies in China, we will no doubt be hearing more about the staffing industry in that country.
To go to the Ciett website for the full report, click here.
For years, there have been those who dismissed recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) as vaporware. No longer. Much to their surprise, RPO is poised to grow as the offering has matured.
Some online services now act as middlemen in parceling out small tasks. With a few clicks on a keyboard anyone can summon an assistant to pick up the groceries, help put together Ikea furniture or perform... Read More
Mine workers are in such short supply in Western Australia that The Wall Street Journal reported on a 25-year-old high school dropout earning $200,000 a year running drills underground.
In a jittery year, the staffing industry has helped companies handle the vicissitudes of a moody economy. So it was no surprise to me that the mood at the American Staffing Association’s recent annual... Read More
There have been reports that some firms, including staffing companies, are cutting spend on job boards in favor of social media sites such as LinkedIn. But at least one career site begs to differ.... Read More