This thesis explores the role of temporary staffing agencies (TSAs) in the local labour market by analysing the social interactions and relationships between TSAs and their clients. It argues that different agencies can reshape and reproduce the temporary staffing industry (TSI) and labour markets in locally specific ways. The research responds to calls for the TSI to be understood as “more than a ‘neutral’ service industry” (Coe et al., 2009a:58) and the limited body of knowledge relating to the tactics of different sized TSAs (beyond the multinationals). It examines how different sized TSAs can make markets locally – by actively creating demand, wining new business and influencing employment – or how they may be marginalised by the activities of competitors. This research fulfils the need to examine the role of TSAs in the local labour market. Pilot research identified three themes that contribute to addressing these gaps: i) the affect of local labour market characteristics on the process of recruitment; ii) the contractual and social relationships between agencies and their clients; and iii) the influence of size on the activities of agencies locally. The study took place in Birmingham and focuses on TSAs which recruit within the light industrial and driving sectors.
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