ASA
American Staffing Association

Boutique firms
Firms that specialize in placing candidates for a particular industry or job specialty. This is in contrast to generalist firms that will seek to meet any hiring need that arises.

NAPS
National Association of Personnel Services.

Temps
The word used for temporary employees provided by staffing services.

Additional Terms Provided by the American Staffing Association:

Long-Term and Contract Help
A staffing firm supplies employees to work on long-term, indefinite assignments. Employees are recruited, screened, and assigned by the staffing firm.

Managed Services
A staffing firm assumes full responsibility for operating a specific customer function (e.g., mail room) on an on-going basis.

Payrolling
The customer recruits workers but asks a staffing firm to hire and assign them to perform services. Or workers currently employed by the customer are placed on the payroll of a staffing firm. Payrolling is distinguished from PEO arrangements in that the workers generally are on temporary assignments and make up a small proportion of the customer's work force.

PEO (Employee Leasing)
A business places all or most of its work force onto the payroll of a staffing firm and the staffing firm assumes responsibility for payroll, benefits, and other human resource functions.

Placement
A staffing firm brings together job seekers and potential employers for the purpose of establishing a "permanent" employment relationship.

Temporary Help
A staffing firm hires its own employees and assigns them to support or supplement a customer's work force in situations involving employee absences, temporary skill shortages, seasonal workloads, and special projects.

Temporary to Hire
A staffing firm employee works for a customer during a trial period in which both the employee and the customer consider establishing a "permanent" employment relationship.

Health Care
Physicians, dentists, nurses, hygienists, medical technicians, therapists, home health aides, custodial care workers, etc.

Industrial
Manual laborers, food handlers, cleaners, assemblers, drivers, tradesmen, machine operators, maintenance workers, etc.

Information Technology
Consultants, analysts, programmers, designers, installers, and other occupations involving computer sciences (hardware or software) or communications technology (Internet, telephony, etc.)

Office–Clerical
Secretaries, general office clerks, receptionists, administrative assistants, word-processing and data entry operators, cashiers, etc.

Professional–Managerial
Accountants, bookkeepers, attorneys, paralegals, middle and senior managers, advertising and marketing executives, and other nontechnical occupations that require higher skill or education levels.