BLS: Staffing Employment Up in March

Staffing Firms Add 11,400 Jobs in March 2015

Staffing firms created 11,400 new jobs in March, up 0.4% from February and 5.3% from March 2014, according to seasonally adjusted data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Year-to-year staffing job growth averaged 5.7% over the past 12 months.

Nonseasonally adjusted BLS data, which estimate the actual number of jobs in the economy, indicated that temporary help employment increased 1.5% from February to March. Year-to-year, there were 5.4% more staffing employees in March than in the same month last year.

Total U.S. nonfarm payroll employment increased by 126,000 jobs in March (seasonally adjusted), BLS reported. Incorporating revisions for January and February, the data showed that monthly job gains averaged 197,000 over the past three months, significantly less than the average of 269,000 for the prior 12 months.

The unemployment rate held at 5.5% in March—down 1.1 percentage points from a year ago.

“Businesses continue to be very strategic about increasing the size of their permanent and flexible workforces,” said Richard Wahlquist, president and chief executive officer of the American Staffing Association. “Job seekers need to ensure that their résumés clearly reflect their skills and experience in a way that is most relevant to today’s employment market.”

BLS also released preliminary February employment data for search and placement services, which increased 0.9% from January, seasonally adjusted. Search and placement jobs totaled 313,400 in February, 9.4% higher than in the same month last year.

For more information, visit the ASA newsroom. Interviews with ASA executives are available.

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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 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.