MAHONING VALLEY Temp agencies see jobs as tryouts for permanent posts

One agency manager said 80 percent of temporary jobs become permanent.
YOUNGSTOWN -- As businesses scramble to survive in a struggling market, workers often are left with nowhere to turn for employment.
Employers can't afford to keep employees permanently on staff, but they need workers to get the job done.
Temporary employment offers a wave of relief. But, is it temporary?
Temporary employment can be defined as day-to-day, unskilled labor for immediate pay. Workers report to businesses, accepting whatever temporary work they can offer for days, weeks, or months at a time before moving on to the next assignment.
Mike Angelo of Snelling Personnel Services in Boardman said the company matches employees to temporary positions available based on their skills, experience and schooling.
He estimates that as many as 60 percent of businesses in the region have used temporary employees at some point.
'Trial jobs': The bulk of Snelling's services are not "temps," Angelo said, but are more clearly defined as "trial jobs."
"Employers have the chance to test out workers before deciding to hire them," he said, explaining that the trial form of career placement puts qualified, skilled people in steady positions.
"If the job works out, employers have the opportunity to hire the employee for a permanent position," Angelo says.
He said temp clients are never considered employees of the businesses where they are working, but are always employees of the agencies that send them out. Whenever the business decides they no longer need the workers, they are paid for their services, and sent to the next job the agency has available.
Angelo does not feel this trend of temporary labor degrades the value of work for the individual or the employer.
"Average pay for temporary labor is somewhere around $8 per hour, and more depending on the level of skill required to complete the job," Angelo explains.
Unskilled labor: Corptemps Inc. in Niles also provides temporary employment opportunities. Steve Tandon, manager of Corptemps, says that temp jobs are based on a "work-today, pay-today" philosophy. "They are a one-time only thing," Tandon explains. "Temp jobs are for unskilled labor only, not for professional work."
His temp employees average between $6 and $6.50 per hour for this form of labor. Businesses that employ temporary workers are not concerned with agreements or contracts with employees, but a simple method of pay in exchange for work.
Opportunities: Adecco Employment Services, with offices in Warren and Boardman, offers a similar type of temp service, as well as full- and part-time job opportunities.
Manager Lorie King says, "Eighty percent of temporary positions become permanent, which means it is no longer temp after 90 days."
King sees this form of job placement as "an excellent way for employees to see where they would be working, and there's no attachment."
Temp jobs can be more extensive, requiring several types of testing before employing workers. King explains that Adecco provides a form of "will fit" testing, where individuals are matched with a job that fits their preferences.
"Is the job stressful, like a call center for example," King says. "Is this person going to be fit to handle that situation? We can find that out before sending them out on the job."
The temporary employment agencies also ensure benefits to employees immediately, even within temporary employment. King goes on to say, "Everything is immediate, except paid vacations, which are earned."
Temporary employment is an efficient way to find work and get money quickly, but lacks the comfort that comes with job security.
But, as Angelo explains, "most people coming to us for temporary employment need to pay bills. But it can always lead to more than that."