Temporary Help Up 9.3%
“Job growth continued in temporary help services, which was up by 24,000” in April, according to Erica L. Groshen, commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, commenting on the monthly jobs report released today. Seasonally adjusted employment was up 0.8% over March and 9.3% over April of last year. BLS has measured temporary help job growth at about 9% year-to-year since December, the strongest sustained pace since August 2012.
Nonseasonally adjusted BLS data, which estimate the actual number of jobs in the economy, indicated that staffing employment increased by 55,100 in April (up 2.0% from March). On a year-to-year basis, there were 9.7% more staffing employees in April than in the same month last year.
“As the economy ramps up from a weak first quarter, businesses are turning to staffing and recruiting companies to expand their workforces to meet increased demand,” says Richard Wahlquist, president and chief executive officer of the American Staffing Association. “For job seekers, the improving economy is good news because it means that more staffing employees will bridge to permanent jobs from their temporary or contract assignments.”
Total U.S. nonfarm payroll employment increased by 288,000 jobs in April, BLS reported. Monthly job gains averaged 190,000 in the prior 12 months. The April unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage point to 6.3%.
BLS also released preliminary March employment data for search and placement services: seasonally adjusted at 308,200, an increase of 1,800 (0.6%) from February.
For more information, visit the ASA Newsroom. You can also follow ASA on Twitter.
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.
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 ›
Staffing Firms Add 9,300 Jobs in April Temporary help employment showed little change from March to April (0.3%), according to seasonally adjusted data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Staffing employment was 2.3% higher than in April 2015. Year-to-year staffing job growth averaged 3.3% over the past 12 months. Nonseasonally adjusted BLS… 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 ›
Staffing employment in February is up 3.3% compared with the same month last year, according to the ASA Staffing Index. More ›