| NSF Org: |
BCS Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | July 18, 2001 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | July 18, 2001 |
| Award Number: | 0117450 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Thomas Baerwald
BCS Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences SBE Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences |
| Start Date: | July 15, 2001 |
| End Date: | June 30, 2003 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $7,076.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $7,076.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
950 MAIN ST WORCESTER MA US 01610-1400 (508)421-3835 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
950 MAIN ST WORCESTER MA US 01610-1400 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Geography and Spatial Sciences |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.075 |
ABSTRACT
Over the last few decades, the temporary help service industry (THSI) in the United States has grown significantly. Prevailing explanations for this growth focus on increases in demand for flexible labor to reduce costs to companies using temporary workers and changes in labor supply owing to workers' increasing preferences for flexible work schedules. Because forms of work other than temporary agencies can also fulfill these supply and demand requirements, however, neither explanation is sufficient to explain why the THSI has emerged. This doctoral dissertation research project hypothesizes that the growth of the THSI is in part a result of the increasing decentralization of companies to suburban areas. This relocation provides relatively little social access to low-wage workers, who continue to face few opportunities to move to suburban areas. The project explores whether firms use the labor services provided by the THSI to access and mobilize labor under conditions they would not otherwise be able to achieve. Empirical work conducted as part of this study is a multi-faceted exploration of low-wage clerical and light industrial temporary work in Worcester, Massachusetts. Data will be collected through in-depth interviews with 30 temporary agencies and 60 firms who use THSI services. In-depth interviews will allow a more complex explanation of the specific reasons that firms use temporary workers and will shed light on the process of matching and mobilizing labor that temporary agencies perform. The firms and agencies to be interviewed are chosen randomly from a geographically stratified sample that will allow an assessment of the relationship between a company's ease of access to low-wage labor and the firm's use of THSI workers. A mailed survey to 1800 companies will test the results of the trends observed in the interview phase. Analysis of the data collected from both the interviews and mail survey will focus on why and how firms use temporary agencies to substitute for their own recruiting efforts. This research will provide data on the likelihood, intensity, and variety of temporary worker use by firms with greater or lesser access to their desired labor pools. Analyses also will be made of the location, recruiting strategies, and labor services provided by temporary agencies.
This project will provide new insights into the processes that have resulted in the rapid growth of THSI, and it will shed light on the potential for continued growth of the industry. The project's results also will enhance understandings of the conditions that underlie growth in the THSI, and it will provide practical information regarding access to employment information, which can improve the job opportunities of low-income workers. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.
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