Most people, in order to make money, have to work, of which, typically the most desirable format of such work, is to be hired directly by their employer so as to get an employment package which usually consists of a combination of healthcare benefits, vacation time, sick time, personal days, holidays, scheduled performance reviews, stock options, 401K matching, as well as benefits that accrue to employees for length of service, such as additional vacation time. This means, for the most part, that direct employees of a company are considered to be part and parcel of the company itself, and are protected more completely by State as well as Federal labor laws.
Then, on the other hand, there are temporary employees, in which, the most basic understanding of such, is that seasonal conditions, may require companies to ramp up employment for a period of time, such as the Christmas season, so as to be able to have the manpower to get goods out in a timely manner, of which, those that are hired on as a temporary employee, recognize this, and hence, the situation is fairly straightforward. In addition, companies that are on a growth spurt may find it more beneficial to hire temporary employees, because they aren't sure how long their accelerated growth rate will last, in which they find the convenience of a temporary employee to be more advantageous for them.
So what exactly is a temporary employee? As the name suggests, a temporary employee, is primarily, someone that is hired to work for a given company, on a temporary basis, not on a perceived permanent basis. Additionally, the hiring of temps is typically done through a recognized third party staffing agency such as Manpower or Kelly Services and similar. In most cases, the company hiring on the temp, has a great deal of flexibility in regards to the length of term of such a contract outsourced, as well as typically not being responsible for the payment of healthcare, vacation, sick leave, or other fringe benefits that a regular employee of the firm would receive. Whether the temp worker, receives any benefits whatsoever, will be determined by the temp agency that has placed that person, and their policies, but it is fair to say, that the benefits that temp agencies offer to those that are placed by them, are minimal, at best.
While it does make sense for some people, that are trying to make a little extra money but cannot make a long-term commitment as an employee, to desire to be a temp, most people, find their way to a temp agency by virtue of their present inability to find gainful employment in a field that they are qualified for in the first place, and seek temp jobs, to hold them over, until such a time as they can secure themselves full-time employment, and while it is also true, that many temp agencies, permit companies to hire on temps directly, after a given period of time, and/or for a fee, many companies aren't actually looking to do so when they hired on a temp, for the work is either seasonal, or basically transitory in nature.
It would be one thing if temporary employees were in aggregate, to average a higher wage than regular employees, because they have so little peripheral benefits attached to them, such as healthcare, but it is an entirely different thing when temporary employees actually earns less, as the economist.com reports: "… temps earn 20-25% less per hour than their permanent counterparts in similar roles." That statistic though shouldn't be seen as too surprising since, the staffing agency, when placing a temp, typically marks up the hourly rate no lower than 20%, but often this is significantly higher, indicating, that in the temp world, besides the lack of benefits, besides the lower pay, and besides the temporary nature of the employment, there still is real money that is being made, but it's not really the actual person doing that work getting that money, rather in many cases, it’s the agency itself, that makes out quite well on another man's sweat labor.