The ManpowerGroup's Contingent Workforce Index (CWI) measures the relative ease of sourcing, hiring and retaining a contingent workforce in competing labor markets around the world. The CWI compiles more than 50 key data points around the Availability, Cost Efficiency, Regulation and Productivity of each country's contingent workforce. Then, using a proprietary formula, it assigns a numerical value to each country, comparing the relative opportunities of entering one labor market versus another.

Just as a country's GDP can be used as an economic indicator, the CWI can be used as an indicator of contingent workforce availability. The CWI rankings provide perspective and insight that can impact short- and long-term strategies involving contingent workforce procurement, which include:

•     Capacity planning
•     Recruitment strategies
•     Location strategy
•     Workforce budget and forecasting
•     Cost-savings initiatives
•     Organizational restructuring
•     Merger & acquisition

A higher CWI ranking indicates countries that are likely to support higher volumes of contingent hiring with greater cost efficiency based on quality and productivity.