Staffing Employment Down Slightly, New Starts up Six Points
ASA Staffing Index Monthly Report, May 2024
Staffing employment edged down during the week of May 13-19, with the ASA Staffing Index declining by just 0.3% to hold at a rounded value of 89. Staffing jobs were down 10.9% compared with the same week last year, with no one factor cited to have hindered further growth.
Despite a contraction in staffing employment, new starts in the 20th week of the year increased by 6.1% from the prior week, and almost half of staffing companies (48%) reported gains in new assignments week to week—above the average of 44% per week so far this year.
The ASA Staffing Index four-week moving average inched down from the prior week to hold at a rounded value of 89, and temporary and contract staffing employment for the four weeks ending May 19 was 10.4% lower than the same period in 2023.
“A sustained pattern of negligible fluctuation in the Staffing Index suggests that the industry has settled into a steady rhythm of growth, unlikely to see substantial disruption without a material change in external macroeconomic conditions. This makes a case for optimism about the future of staffing employment once interest rates are reduced, business conditions improve, and the labor market sees greater churn,” said Noah Yosif, chief economist at ASA.
This week will be used in the April monthly employment situation report scheduled to be issued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on June 7.
The ASA Staffing Index is reported nine days after each workweek, making it a near real-time measure of staffing employment trends. ASA Staffing Starts are the number of temporary and contract employees placed in new assignments during the reporting week. ASA research shows that staffing employment has historically been a coincident economic indicator.
For more information, visit americanstaffing.net/index. Or follow ASA research on Twitter.
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About the American Staffing Association (ASA)
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.
