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Cambridge Journal of Economics Advance Access originally published online on May 30, 2006
Cambridge Journal of Economics 2007 31(2):171-192; doi:10.1093/cje/bel011
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved.

Flexible recession: the temporary staffing industry and mediated work in the United States

Jamie Peck and Nik Theodore*

* Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA, and Center for Urban Economic Development, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA (Jamie Peck); Urban Planning and Policy Program & Center for Urban Economic Development, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA (Nik Theodore)

Address for correspondence: Jamie Peck, Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA; email: japeck{at}wisc.edu

The evolution of the temporary staffing industry (TSI) in the US is examined, with particular reference to the structural functions of temporary work during the boom of the 1990s, the ‘flexible’ recession of 2001, and the subsequent ‘jobless’ recovery. It is argued that the TSI is increasingly playing a systemic, macroregulatory role in the US labour market, where it now accounts for a disproportionate share of the costs of labour-market adjustment. The development path of the TSI is closely intertwined with the wider restructuring of the US economy, where it has assumed a significant presence as a purveyor of low-cost, flexibly mediated labour.

Key Words: Temporary work • Temporary employment agencies • US labour market • Recession • Jobless recovery

JEL classifications: J40, J63, J65, J80

Manuscript received December 13, 2004; final version received January 11, 2006.


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