ABSTRACT

This chapter focuses on complication of labour market operation: the use of companies, agencies, and information networks to mediate the employer-employee relationship. It aims to improve the conceptualisation of labour market intermediation (LMI) by applying theories of intermediation and commodity chains. The chapter outlines and exemplifies the sources of local/national specificity in the operation and effects of LMI. Commercial intermediation is the process of connecting suppliers and buyers via a third party, the intermediary. In the search for workers, employers can trade off: search costs, wage rates, training costs, and labour productivity. Temporary services (TS) agencies can provide producers with quantitative flexibility, economies of scope, and/or regulatory slipperiness. The configuration of a commodity chain reflects deliberate attempts by each constituent producer, provider, and intermediary to regulate the entire chain to its advantage. The development and operation of LMIs must fit into the mix of economic, demographic, and political characteristics of each specific location and industry.