Staffing Employment Up 6.4% From a Year Ago
Seasonally adjusted employment data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that staffing firms added 20,300 new jobs from February to March (up 0.8%). In a year-to-year comparison, temporary help employment for the month was 6.4% higher than in March 2012.
Nonseasonally adjusted BLS data, which estimate the actual number of jobs in the economy, indicate that the staffing industry added 55,100 new jobs (up 2.2%) from February to March of this year. On a year-to-year basis, there were 6.8% more staffing employees in March than in the same month last year.
Overall U.S. nonfarm payroll employment increased by 88,000 jobs in March, the lowest rate of job creation in nine months. The job gains were far lower than many economists’ predictions, which suggested payroll additions for March would be around 200,000 new jobs.
“It continues to be a very tough employment market in most parts of the country,” says Richard Wahlquist, president and chief executive officer of the American Staffing Association. “Job seekers need to have multifaceted employment search strategies in place that include speaking with local staffing and recruiting firms about their job prospects.”
Employment growth was mostly driven by new job creation in professional and business services (+51,000), health care (+23,000), construction (+18,000), and leisure and hospitality (+17,000). Approximately 40% of employment growth in professional and business services was driven by new jobs created in the temporary help industry. Job losses were noted in retail trade (-4,000) and within government (-12,000).
The overall U.S. unemployment rate edged down from 7.7% in February to 7.6% in March.
BLS also provides employment estimates for search and placement firms, but those are nonseasonal only, and reports lag one month. Friday, BLS reported that search and placement employment in February was down 1.8% from January, totaling 277,000 jobs for the month. In a year-to-year comparison, February employment was up 6.4% from the same month in 2012.
For more information, visit the ASA newsroom. Interviews with ASA executives are available.
# # #
About the American Staffing Association
The American Staffing Association is the voice of the U.S. staffing, recruiting, and workforce solutions industry. ASA and its state affiliates advance the interests of the industry across all sectors through advocacy, research, education, and the promotion of high standards of legal, ethical, and professional practices. For more information about ASA, visit americanstaffing.net.
Sorry, the content you’ve selected is for members only. Maybe it’s time to join! Or if you’re already a member, please log in. Join today to get access to all ASA webinars and on-demand presentations. The ASA Resource Llibrary includes hundreds of presentations that members can view at their convenience and at no charge. Valuable webinars… More ›
ASA Staffing Index Monthly Report, August 2018 The ASA Staffing Index for the week of Aug. 6–12 strengthened by 0.7% to a rounded value of 101—the third consecutive week the index has reached record highs for their comparable weeks. This also marks the first time the index has reached a rounded figure of 101 before… More ›
ASA Staffing Index Monthly Report, October 2017 Staffing employment for the week of Oct. 9–15 edged up to 98.61, according to the ASA Staffing Index. Temporary and contract staffing employment was 0.09% higher than the prior week, with some survey respondents citing temporary-to-hire conversions as a condition that impeded growth. Staffing employment was 1.32% higher… More ›
New Data From Quarterly ASA Staffing Employment and Sales Survey U.S. staffing companies employed an average of 3.24 million temporary and contract workers per week in the third quarter of 2016. Staffing employment growth eased (down 0.6%) compared with the same period in 2015, according to data released today by the American Staffing Association. Temporary… More ›
ASA Staffing Index Monthly Report, December 2015 Staffing employment for the week of Dec. 7–13 was 103.29, according to the ASA Staffing Index—remaining above an average of 100 for the third consecutive month. Temporary and contract staffing employment increased 1.10% from the prior week. Staffing employment was 3.95% lower than the same week last year…. More ›
Staffing Firms Add 16,000 Jobs in April 2015 Staffing firms created 16,100 new jobs in April, up 0.6% from March and 5.5% from April 2014, according to seasonally adjusted data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Year-to-year staffing job growth averaged 5.8% over the past 12 months. Nonseasonally adjusted BLS data, which… More ›
Staffing Firms Add 14,700 Jobs in December 2014 Staffing firms created 14,700 new jobs in December, up 0.5% from November and 7.8% from December 2013, according to seasonally adjusted data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Year-to-year staffing job growth averaged 8.7% in 2014, compared with 6.4% in 2013. Nonseasonally adjusted BLS… More ›
“Over the year, employment in professional and business services [which includes staffing] has expanded by 648,000,” said BLS commissioner Erica L. Groshen, commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. More ›
Staffing employment is flat (0.0%) compared with the same month last year, according to the ASA Staffing Index. More ›
Seasonally adjusted employment data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that staffing firms added 16,000 new jobs from January to February (up More ›
