Temporary agency work as a transition for a more efficient labour market?

Temporary agency work has known an important expansion during the last 40 years. Today, 3,3 million agency workers are employed on a daily basis in the European Union. In 2012 they will be 5 million. The penetration rate is the most common indicator to measure the impact of agency work on the labour market. This indicator compares the share of agency workers with the total number of employed people. Belgium has a penetration rate of 2,5%. In this contribution we want to measure the impact of agency work in another way. We apply the concept of the transitional labour market, developed by the German sociologist Gunther Schmidt. The transitional labour market model focuses on the transitions between school and education, work, unemployment, inactivity (household activities) and retirement. A smooth transition between these different activities is an important feature of a well-functioning labour market. We will examine the the role of agency work in these different transitions. Traditionally, agency work is considered as important in the transition from school to work and from inactivity to work. Our analysis of the Belgian situation shows that agency work is crucial in the transition from work to work as well. In this contribution we try to benchmark Belgium on an international basis.