The American Staffing Association began compiling data related to temporary and contract employment in June of 2006. Since then, the ASA Staffing index has served as an indicator of the level of temporary employment across the country. During the early months of 2007 & 2008, temporary employment hovered around the 100-point mark. However, with the onset of the recession, we saw a steady decrease in the later months of 2008. This remains consistent with the previous state of our economy.
This past July, temporary employment hit rock bottom and has since risen 23%. The significant increase doesn’t seem very evident on the graph in comparison to previous years, but in contrast to the steady decline we saw in November and December of 2008, the increase is reassuring.
So what does this mean for businesses, the recruiting industry and the greater economy? Temporary employment has always served as a great indicator for the direction in which permanent employment will head. With temporary employment increasing throughout the past two months and a relatively small drop in temp employment in the last week of the year, we can expect unemployment to decrease in the near future. Since August of 2009, unemployment has remained around 10%, but as we begin the new year, temporary employment indicates that the unemployment rate will once again fall below 10%. A strong recovery is not clear, but a recovery nonetheless is nearing. With the beginning of a new year, we are excited to see a recovery in the staffing and recruiting industry.
Karaer, Alexandra. "BLS: Temporary Help Continued to Add Jobs in December."
Staffing Week: n. pag. Web. 14 Jan. 2010.