Use of flexible staffing arrangements--including temporary help agency, short-term, on-call, regular part-time, and contract workers--is widespread and two-thirds of employers believe this trend will increase in the near future. A study examined which employers use flexible staffing arrangements, why they use these arrangements, and their implications for workers and public policy. Data were collected from a nationally representative survey of private sector businesses, using a telephone survey of 550 employers. The traditional reasons concerning the need to accommodate fluctuations in workload or absences in staff are the most commonly cited reasons for using all types of flexible staffing arrangements. Many employers also use agency temporaries and part-time to screen candidates for regular positions. Finally, savings on benefits costs is an important factor determining employers' use of flexible staffing arrangements. Workers in flexible staffing arrangements typically are not covered by regulations governing benefits, and they usually do not receive key benefits, such as pension benefits and health insurance, when these benefits are offered to regular full-time workers. (Survey data and methodology information are appended.) (Contains 31 references.) (KC)