Staffing Up 0.5% in August

Seasonally adjusted employment data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that staffing firms added 13,100 new jobs from July to August (up 0.5%). In a year-to-year comparison, temporary help employment for the month was 7.2% higher than in August 2012.

Nonseasonally adjusted BLS data, which estimate the actual number of jobs in the economy, indicated that the staffing industry added 64,700 jobs (up 2.4%) from July to August of this year. On a year-to-year basis, there were 7.2% more staffing employees in August than in the same month last year.

“While demand remains uneven in different sectors and in different regions of the country, staffing firms are generally more optimistic about increases in job growth over the balance of the year,” says Richard Wahlquist, president and chief executive officer of the American Staffing Association. “At the same time, shortages of workers in skilled trades and information technology continues to be an issue for many employers.”

Overall U.S. nonfarm payroll employment increased by 169,000 jobs in August and the unemployment rate edged down to 7.3%. Over the past 12 months, employment growth has averaged 184,000 jobs per month.

Sectors adding jobs to the economy included retail trade (+44,000), health care (+33,000), professional and business services (+23,000), and food services and drinking places (+21,000). Within the information sector, the motion picture and sound recording industry lost 22,000 jobs in August. Employment in most other major industries showed little change over the month.

BLS also provides both seasonal and nonseasonal employment estimates for search and placement firms, however these reports lag by one month. Friday, BLS reported that seasonal search and placement employment in July was up 1.5% from June, totaling 293,700 jobs for the month. In a year-to-year comparison, July employment was up 8.1% from the same month in 2012.

Nonseasonally adjusted search and placement employment was up 2.3% from June to July, totaling 295,600 jobs. In a year-over-year comparison, nonseasonally adjusted employment for this staffing segment was up 8.6%.

For more information, visit the ASA newsroom.

Interviews with ASA executives are available.

The American Staffing Association is the voice of the U.S. staffing industry. ASA and its affiliated chapters advance the interests of staffing and recruiting firms of all sizes and across all sectors through legal and legislative advocacy, public relations, education, and the promotion of high standards of legal, ethical, and professional practices. ASA members provide the full range of employment and work force services and solutions, including temporary and contract staffing, recruiting and permanent placement, outplacement and outsourcing, training, and human resource consulting.