There are an estimated 1.4 million temporary help agency workers in the US.[i] However, to date, there has been limited research comparing injury rates of temporary and permanent workers. NIOSH recently published “Comparative analyses of workers’ compensation claims of injury among temporary and permanent employed workers in Ohio” in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine. The study analyzed over 1.3 million workers’ compensation (WC) claims in Ohio from 2001-2013 (including 45,046 claims from workers employed by temporary service agencies) to compare the injury risk of temporary and permanent workers.
This study found that workers employed in temporary agencies had higher overall injury rates than permanently employed workers performing comparable work from 2001 to 2013 among Ohio‐insured private employers. Injured temporary agency workers were younger, more likely to be male, and had less tenure (especially those with less than a year on the job) compared to permanently employed workers. These differences were pronounced in certain industries (including Agriculture, Extraction, and Construction) and causes of injuries (including contact with objects and equipment and exposure to harmful substances or environments).