What percentage of agency staff account for staff costs within cost of sales?

• A. 18%
• B. 22%
• C. 30%
• D. 15%

Answer: (B)

In cost of sales, you focus on the labour costs that directly contribute to producing the product or delivering the service. The figure asked for is the share of that labour that comes from agency (temporary) staff. To find it, take the agency staff costs that are allocated to cost of sales, divide by the total staff costs allocated to cost of sales, and multiply by 100.

The given data yields 22%, so agency staff make up about a fifth of the labour costs tied to cost of sales. This reflects how much flexible, agency labour is used in production relative to permanent staff. If the mix of agency versus permanent staff changed, the percentage would move accordingly; the other options would require different totals not supported by the data in this scenario.