TIGHT LABOR MARKET GIVES TEMPS BIG BOOST IN WAGES.

Byline: L.M. Sixel Houston Chronicle

The labor market is getting tighter, and that's good news for temporary workers.

Temporary personnel agencies are giving their employees higher raises than typical permanent workers have been receiving, and they're also offering a wider array of benefits to attract and retain the best temporaries.

``It's more of a sellers' market - the temporaries with skills are in very high demand,'' said Patrick Layhee, president and chief executive officer of M. David Lowe Staffing Services in Houston. Office temps are particularly hot right now, especially those with computer and word processing skills.

And that's showing in the company's pay raises. Since Jan. 1, 1996, temps had received an average wage boost of 4.1 percent compared to a year ago, Layhee said. Average permanent workers got a paltry 2.7 percent boost from December 1995 to September, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Skilled labor is getting hard to find nationwide, said Anthony Chan, chief economist with Banc One Investment Advisors in Columbus, Ohio. According to several surveys, employers are giving up looking for permanent workers and turning to temporary agencies.

But now temporary agencies are having trouble finding highly skilled employees, Chan said. And wages are going up faster for temps, because they're able to push for them.

Permanent workers are worried more about job security, Chan said. They figure they're not in such a strong position to ask for a raise, so many don't do it.

``There's no such issue at temporary firms - temporaries don't care about job security,'' Chan said. ``They have nothing to lose by demanding higher wages. If they want you, they have to pay.''