The staff of employment service agencies is responsible for the daily operation of the firm. Many of these workers are in management, business, and financial, and sales occupations, which together account for only about 7 percent of jobs in this industry. Managers ensure that the agency is run effectively, and they often conduct interviews of potential clients and jobseekers. Employment, recruitment, and placement specialists recruit and evaluate applicants and attempt to match them with client firms. Most work in the personnel supply services industry. Sales workers actively pursue new client firms and recruit qualified workers. Because of fierce competition among agencies, marketing and sales work at times can be quite stressful.

About 3 in 10 workers in this industry are in office and administrative support jobs. These positions may be either temporary or permanent. Experience in office and administrative support occupations usually is preferred for these jobs, although some persons take special training to learn skills such as bookkeeping and word processing. Receptionists greet visitors, field telephone calls, and perform assorted office functions. Secretaries perform a growing range of tasks, such as keyboarding and answering the telephone, depending on the type of firm in which they work. Medical secretaries make appointments and need a familiarity with common medical terms and procedures; legal secretaries must be familiar with the format of common legal documents. General office clerks file documents, type reports, and enter computer data. File clerks classify and store office information and records. Data entry keyers type information into a computer data base, either through a personal computer or directly into a mainframe computer. Word processors and typists enter and format drafts of documents using typewriters or computers. Bookkeeping clerks compute, classify, and record transaction data for financial records and reports.

Production occupations and transportation and material moving occupations together account for 40 percent of employment in the employment services industry. Many of these jobs seldom require education beyond high school, although related work experience may be preferred for some. Others require significant experience and on-the-job training. Highly skilled assemblers and fabricators may assemble and connect parts of electronic devices, while those who are less skilled work on production lines, continually repeating the same operation. Helpers perform a variety of mostly unskilled tasks. Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers transport goods to and from storage areas in either factories, warehouses, or other businesses. Hand packers and packagers wrap, package, inspect, and label materials manually, often keeping records of what has been packed and shipped.

A growing number of temporary workers are specialized professional and related workers, who currently account for another 9 percent of employment. Professional and related occupations include a variety of specialists and practitioners, some of whom require many years of postsecondary education to qualify for their positions. For example, lawyers or attorneys generally need 4 years of college and 3 years of law school. They act as advisors, providing counsel on legal rights and obligations and suggesting particular courses of action in business. Computer programmers write, test, and maintain the detailed instructions, called programs or software that computers must follow to perform their functions. Other computer specialists include computer support specialists, who provide technical assistance, support, and advice to customers and users. Licensed practical nurses provide basic bedside care to patients. Registered nurses administer medication, tend to patients, and advise patients and family members about procedures and proper care. They usually work in hospitals, but they may be assigned to private duty in patients' homes.

Service workers employed on a temporary basis also include a number of healthcare support occupations. Home health aides usually work in the home of an elderly or ill patient, allowing the patient to stay at home instead of being institutionalized. Becoming a home health aide generally does not require education beyond high school. Nursing aides and orderlies also seldom need education beyond high school, but employers do prefer previous experience. These workers assist nurses with patient care in hospitals and nursing homes.

The remainder of the workers in this industry includes those in farming, fishing, and forestry and installation, maintenance, and repair occupations.