Temporary Help Up 8.1%

“Employment in temporary help services continued to trend up (+10,000) and has grown by 216,000 over the past year,” according to Erica L. Groshen, commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, commenting on the June jobs report released today. Seasonally adjusted staffing employment was up 0.4% over May and 8.1% over June of last year. While year-to-year growth for the month was the lowest since November, according to BLS, the average over the past eight months has been a robust 8.7%.

Nonseasonally adjusted BLS data, which estimate the actual number of jobs in the economy, indicated that staffing employment increased by 31,400 in June, up 1.1% from May. On a year-to-year basis, there were 8.2% more staffing employees in June than in the same month last year.

“The continued strength of staffing employment growth reflects continued improvement in overall economic growth,” says Richard Wahlquist, president and chief executive officer of the American Staffing Association. “The especially good news for job seekers is that staffing and recruiting firms are reporting increases in requests from businesses across many sectors for candidates to fill permanent positions.”

Total U.S. nonfarm payroll employment increased by 288,000 jobs in June, BLS reported. Monthly job gains averaged 272,000 over the past three months, up from 201,000 per month since June of last year.

“Job gains were widespread” in June, Goshen said, “led by employment growth in professional and business services [which includes staffing], retail trade, food services, and health care.”

The unemployment rate declined from 6.3% in May to 6.1% in June.

BLS also released preliminary May employment data for search and placement services. Seasonally adjusted, employment increased 1.6% from April to May, totaling 314,100. The 4,800 new jobs were the strongest numeric increase of any month since February 2013.

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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 and regional 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.