Temporary help jobs rose by 23,200 in September from the previous month, the highest increase this year, according to seasonally adjusted numbers released today by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The year-over-year growth rate for temporary jobs in the US rose to 1.88%.

“The acceleration in temporary help jobs growth is an encouraging sign that the economy is regaining its footing in the second half of 2016,” said Andrew Braswell, CCWP, senior research analyst at Staffing Industry Analysts. “While overall jobs growth wasn’t particularly robust, another uptick in the participation rate bodes well for labor supply in this environment of low unemployment and high job openings.”

September’s temporary penetration rate — temporary help services jobs as a percent of total employment — edged up to 2.03% in September from 2.02% in August.

Total nonfarm jobs rose by 156,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis, down from the gain of 167,000 in August. Employment gains occurred in professional and business services and in healthcare.

“September’s steady but unspectacular employment numbers suggest that the combination of tight labor markets, falling profits and higher wages may slow job growth in the coming months, but the news is not all negative,” The Conference Board said in a statement released today after the jobs numbers.

The unemployment rate edged up to 5.0% from 4.9% in August. The college-level unemployment rate — which can serve as a proxy for professional employment — fell to 2.5% in September from 2.7% in August.

“Though the unemployment rate rose slightly to 5.0%, this is largely due to rising labor force participation. Wages have now grown by 2.6% during the past year,” The Conference Board stated. “A combination of more confident workers and still risk averse firms is making it increasingly difficult for businesses to find the right workers at the right price.”

Bloomberg reports the total nonfarm jobs increase fell short of the median forecast in its survey of economists, which called for a 172,000 increase.

“The job market continues to move forward,” said Ryan Sweet, an economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Penn. “The unemployment rate rose for all the right reasons. We got some acceleration in wage growth in September but we’d love to see much stronger gains.” The data keep the Fed on track to raise interest rates in December, and nothing “raises a red flag” for the central bank, Sweet said.

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