Temp workers first to lose jobs during economic downturn: U.N.

Between 100,000 to 150,000 temporary workers lost their jobs in Germany during the economic downturn in 2008 but the trend was duplicated in the U.S., France, Spain and Japan.

NEW YORK - Hundreds of thousands of temporary workers hired through employment agencies were the first to lose their jobs during the global economic collapse which began in October 2008. The International Labour Organization said 100,000 to 150,000 temporary workers lost their jobs in Germany in the four to six month period following the start of the global downturn in October 2008. "Workers who found jobs through temporary employment agencies were among the first to find themselves out of work as a result of the global financial and economic crises, according to a new United Nations report released Monday. John Myers, an industry specialist with the ILO, said the largest number of temporary job losses was recorded in the manufacturing sector of developed countries, especially in the car industry. The trend in Germany of tens of thousands of jobs disappearing was also apparent in Japan, United States, Spain and France, Myers was quoted as saying in a U.N. press release. “Many of the largest private employment agencies are saying that it will be 2010 at least before they see any upturn in business,” said Myers, who authored the U.N. report. “This would generally happen after overtime hours and the length of the working week begin to rise among the core workforce of user enterprises, and companies’ slack capacity begins to fall,” said Myers. “When firms consider turning to agencies to meet their needs, this will be one of the first signs that the economic crisis is beginning to end.”