Ever wonder how or why staffing agencies came about? Like many other industries, the staffing industry originated in an effort to satisfy a need for a specific group of people. Staffing, however, has a rather exquisite history. In 1890, Mrs. A.E. Johnson Employment Agency was placing domestic help in some of the most renowned homes in America including the homes of Ford, Carnegie, Roosevelt, and Rockefeller.
During this time domestic services were a large portion of the workforce, employing about 41% of women servants in 1891, according to an article titled “Yes ma’am: domestic workers and employment rights” written by Lucy Delap. For years after domestic employment dominated the market employing over 1.6 million workers. Recognizing such a great opportunity, other agencies such as the Lindquist Employment Agency, founded in 1926, and the Reimer Employment Agency, founded in 1932 jumped on board and are now the nation’s oldest domestic staffing firms. While they no longer staff for domestic positions as they used to, companies such as the Linquist Employment Agency, now referred to as The Linquist Group, still have clients that are the great, great-grandchildren of their first clients. Today, the staffing industry generates over $117 billion and is continuing to grow, according to the American Staffing Association.
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