A for-profit, private entity that brings together a job seeker and a prospective employer, for a fee, for the purpose of effecting a traditional employment relationship. In the vast majority of cases the fee is paid by the new employer. This term is also frequently applied to temporary staffing firms. PrEA (Private Employment Agency) is the preferred acronym used by CIETT and by certain European social partners to describe an entity that provides both temporary recruitment and permanent placement as well as certain other related activities. The use of the word “Private” from a European perspective is to provide a clear differentiation from public organizations that, in some markets, historically offered these services. (See also: Employment Business.)