ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, November 24, 1996 TAG: 9611220007
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: 4 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: WORKPLACE
SOURCE: L.M. SIXEL HOUSTON CHRONICLE
The labor market is getting tighter, and that's good news for temporary workers.
Temporary personnel agencies are giving their employees higher raises than typical permanent workers have been receiving, and they're also offering a wider array of benefits to attract and retain the best temporaries.
``It's more of a sellers' market - the temporaries with skills are in very high demand,'' said Patrick Layhee, president and chief executive officer of M. David Lowe Staffing Services in Houston. Office temps are particularly hot right now, especially those with computer and word processing skills.
And that's showing in the company's pay raises. Since Jan. 1, temps received an average wage boost of 4.1 percent compared to a year ago, Layhee said. Average permanent workers got a paltry 2.7 percent boost from December to September, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
M. David Lowe is also beefing up its benefits package. About two months ago, it started offering partially paid health care coverage for employees who have logged at least 1,500 hours. Temps requested the employer-paid coverage, Layhee said. Many of them are single parents, and they didn't have coverage before.
``It helps us get the best temporaries,'' Layhee said. Many of today's temporary workers are temporary by choice, because they like the flexible lifestyle, Layhee said. And they can go to the agency that offers the best wages and benefits because they're so much in demand.
It's a similar story at Olsten Staffing Services. The temp agency is importing engineers, drafters, designers and professional and technical accountants from other parts of the United States to Texas, said Mike Bauman, area vice president for Texas. And when they're done with their work in Texas, the professional migrants go to Florida for a few months for another project and then maybe on to California.
In the Houston area, wages have gone up steeply for some of the more highly skilled workers, said Bauman, whose office is in Irving. Customized engineers, computer-aided designers and computer-aided design manufacturing experts have seen raises of 20 percent to 30 percent lately.
Distribution, production and assembly workers are also in demand, so Olsten has boosted their wages 25 to 50 cents an hour on their base wage of $6. More businesses have popped up, and they need that type of employee, Bauman said. The good fortune that has befallen temps lately is a sharp turn from their plight three short years ago.
In 1993, when there were plenty of workers, lots of heavy temp users signed contracts that gave them workers at a low price, Layhee said. There were so many temps willing to work that companies could pay them less. But the job market has improved so much that some economists consider the nation is now at full employment. In October, the U.S. unemployment rate was 5.2 percent. In Texas, the September jobless rate was 5.4 percent.
Skilled labor is getting hard to find nationwide, said Anthony Chan, chief economist with Banc One Investment Advisors in Columbus, Ohio. According to several surveys, employers are giving up looking for permanent workers and turning to temporary agencies to find the folks they need.
But now, temporary agencies are having trouble finding highly skilled employees, Chan said. And wages are going up faster for temps, because they're able to push for them.
Permanent workers are worried more about job security, Chan said. They figure they're not in a strong enough position to ask for a raise, so many don't do it.
``There's no such issue at temporary firms - temporaries don't care about job security,'' Chan said. "They have nothing to lose by demanding higher wages. If they want you, they have to pay.''
Temp agencies probably aren't having trouble passing along the higher wages to their clients, said Cheryl Abbot, an economist with the labor bureau in Dallas. Temps are generally a small part of a company's budget, and they can easily absorb the extra cost.
And generally, employers understand the supply of workers is diminished, said Bauman. They need the skill sets, and they're willing to pay for them in exchange for the flexibility that temps offer.
LENGTH: Medium: 78 linesby CNB