5% of workers get jobs through labour suppliers

12 June 2009

Just 5% (or less than 600,000) of Australia's 10.65 million workers have been placed in jobs by recruitment or labour hire companies, according to new ABS data that also reveals there are almost a million independent contractors.

The Bureau's Forms of Employment Survey (FoES), released this morning, says there are 8,619,600 employees, 967,100 independent contractors and 1,064,400 business operators - giving a total of 10,651,100 "employed persons".

Recruitment and labour hire companies place just 5% of those workers (including independent contractors and business operators) in their jobs.

Some 86% of those placed by recruitment or labour hire companies have served their employer for five years or less, according to the Bureau.

Almost a quarter (23%) are paid directly by their labour hire or recruitment company, 57% usually have continuing work through the labour supplier, 40% are still registered with the supplier and 52% have been placed once by their supplier in the previous 12 months.

Workers told the ABS the main reasons for using a labour supplier to find jobs include "ease of obtaining work" (52%), "hassle free" (8.8%), or that it is a condition of working in the job or industry (8%).

Flexibility comes a long way down the list (4%), as does a preference for short term work (about 1.4% - see note in table 16 of the data).

Of those workers who use labour suppliers to find a job, 54% are men and 62% aged between 25 and 44.

Men who found their job through labour suppliers are most likely to work in manufacturing (19%) or professional, scientific or technical services (11%), while women were likely to work in professional, scientific or technical services or health care and social assistance industries (both 13%).

Men are most likely to be professionals (22%) or trades workers (19%) and women clerical and administrative workers (40%) or professionals (23%).

Almost a million contractors

The survey says the 967,100 independent contractors in Australia constitute about 9.1% of the workforce.

Some 75% are men, and half work more than 40 hours a week (60% of men and 22% of women).

Some 62% say they have authority over their own work, 65% are able to sub-contract and 84% have a say over their start/finish time.

On top of the 967,100 workers who are independent contractors in their main job, there are 134,100 who are independent contractors in their second job.

6.6 million workers have paid leave entitlements

The survey shows that 76.4% (6,584,400) of Australia's 8,619,600 employees are entitled to paid sick and/or annual leave and 23.6% (2,035,200) are not.

About 71% or 6.1 million of Australia's employees are full-time in their main job, and 90% of those employees are entitled to paid leave.

By contrast, less than 43% of the 2.5 million part-time employees are entitled to paid leave.

More than a third (33.8%) of male employees and 44.3% of male independent contractors work 41 hours or more a week, the survey shows.

The survey, conducted in November last year, uses a different methodology to the previous one, (see Related Article), so the two are not directly comparable.

Forms of Employment, Australia, November 2008, 6359.0

Original article – Workplace Express - http://www.workplaceexpress.com.au/