"This paper uses data on over 200,000 young (aged 20–35) temporary employees across Europe (EU-15) in order to investigate the factors leading to different types of temporary employment. Signing a temporary contract is likely to depend upon various social, cultural and political characteristics, thus Europe provides an excellent platform for investigation due to the diverse environments of its member states. Four possible reasons are examined and interpreted in the light of four different labour economics theories. These include temporary employment as: a) signal; b) screening mechanism; c) flexible contract; and d) friction of the labour market. For the empirical analysis, micro-data from the European Labour Force Survey, over the period 2006–2009, is utilised. Personal and socio-economic characteristics, along with national and institutional factors, driving each type of temporary employment, are identified and scrutinised. Our findings show that temporary employment is segmented into two broad groups; “precarious” temporaries and temporaries “by choice”."

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