Most commonly, temporary employees are used to address normal fluctuations in a company's work flow. In order to save money, companies keep staff levels low and use temps to handle the excess work. Examples of this include hiring temps for large mailings, unexpected orders, or time-sensitive projects.

A second major use of temps is as contingency workers to fill positions that are temporarily vacant. This helps a firm to avoid overworking permanent employees and can reduce the need to shuffle job responsibilities.

A third use of temps is as a source for permanent employees. Businesses will often hire temps to fill a new opening in the company. If the person is good at the job, the company arranges with the temp service to hire the person on a permanent basis.