# How much money does my temp agency get paid? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 22, 2011, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-does-my-temp-agency-get-paid/579333 "2011-04-22T06:00:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-does-my-temp-agency-get-paid/579333/1 "2011-04-22T06:00:10Z")
OK, there is no single answer because questions like this depend on the temp agency, the company they contract with, the state they’re in, blah, blah, blah. I’m really curious though. At my temp job I get paid $14.16/hour (why the extra 16c? Who knows) and no medical benefits. So anyway, about what do you think the company I’m working at is paying the temp agency for me? I know the answer will be an educated guess. That’s OK. Strangely, though I don’t feel awkward about asking a bunch of message board strangers, I would feel strange asking my temp rep. Plus, I have a feeling the information would be confidential anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-does-my-temp-agency-get-paid/579333/2 "2011-04-22T09:11:30Z")
No way to know for sure, as you seem to be aware. This link is pretty helpful: [How much is the Temp Agency that I work for getting paid for my services? - temptohire contract job | Ask MetaFilter](http://ask.metafilter.com/64740/How-much-is-the-Temp-Agency-that-I-work-for-getting-paid-for-my-services). Lots of educated guesstimates. It could be anywhere from 1.5 to 3 times the amount you’re getting. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-does-my-temp-agency-get-paid/579333/3 "2011-04-22T11:11:49Z")
When I was in H/R we hired temps. Though we couldn’t tell exactly, it was always 1½ to 5 times (for Y2K experts). The admins which is pretty much 95% of all the temps we used were about 1½. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-does-my-temp-agency-get-paid/579333/4 "2011-04-22T12:25:01Z")
At the Fortune 100 company that I work for, we pay from $25 to $40 per hour for our administrative staff temps. They get paid $12 to 25 per hour. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-does-my-temp-agency-get-paid/579333/5 "2011-04-22T14:03:07Z")
The place I temped at for a year (it was an airline) - I got $20 per hour, they paid close to $30. ---
**Author:** ![Arien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arien)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-does-my-temp-agency-get-paid/579333/6 "2011-04-22T15:57:57Z")
When I was temping a few years ago I accidentally saw the invoice from the temp agency for my current assignment. They paid $16/hr and I got $11/hr for a receptionist position. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-does-my-temp-agency-get-paid/579333/7 "2011-04-22T17:01:15Z")
So anywhere from $21.24 to $42.48 (roughly) it seems. On the one had it seems like a lot, on the other hand with no benefits or, it seems from the link, no SSI; I guess it’s not a bad deal for them. And thanks for the link **rachelellogram** ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-does-my-temp-agency-get-paid/579333/8 "2011-04-22T17:05:11Z")
When I was a temp my employer paid the agency $27 an hour. Of that I got $16. ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-does-my-temp-agency-get-paid/579333/9 "2011-04-22T17:13:20Z")
When I placed temps we marked up as much as we could get away with, but no less than 12.5% because that was the payroll burden in that state. There were times I would mark up 100%, depending on how desperate the temp was and how naive the client was. It’s a nasty business. That was more than 15 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-does-my-temp-agency-get-paid/579333/10 "2011-04-22T17:21:19Z")
We pay $16 an hour for our temps. The agency pays them $12 an hour. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-does-my-temp-agency-get-paid/579333/11 "2011-04-22T18:58:27Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > At the Fortune 100 company that I work for, we pay from $25 to $40 per hour for our administrative staff temps. They get paid $12 to 25 per hour. That sounds about right. I’ve temped more than once in accounting, so I’ve seen the invoices that come into the company for temps. It doesn’t bother me that they get so much more than they pass on to me - I have less than zero interest in going out and getting my own work, and they pay regularly, regardless of when they get the cheque.