Temporary help services jobs fell for the sixth consecutive month in July with a decrease of 22,100 from June, according to seasonally adjusted data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. In addition, the estimated number of temp jobs in June was revised downward by 17,400. 

The temp penetration rate — temp jobs as a percentage of total employment — fell to 1.90% in July from 1.92% in June. 

Year over year, the number of temp jobs is down by 4.7% and now stands at approximately 3.0 million — down by 205,000 from its peak in March 2022. 

“The temporary help industry has lost 82,000 jobs over the past six months, as employers have broadly shifted to a more cautious posture,” said Timothy Landhuis, VP of research at SIA. “Nevertheless, many staffing firms find themselves in a balancing act as they seek to control current costs while preparing for growth that may be around the corner as inflation cools and interest rates peak.”

Still, total nonfarm employment rose by 187,000 jobs in July to a total of 156.3 million, though that is less than the average monthly gain of 312,000 over the past 12 months. Also, the US unemployment rate edged downward to 3.5% in July from 3.6% in June. The unemployment rate has ranged from 3.4% to 3.7% since March 2022. 

Economists had expected job gains to total 200,000 with unemployment at 3.6%, according to Yahoo Finance.

While temporary help services jobs fell in July, industries that did add jobs included healthcare, social assistance, financial activities and wholesale trade. 

Healthcare added 63,000 jobs in July, that’s up from its average monthly gain of 51,000 in the past 12 months. The gains were in ambulatory healthcare services, hospitals and nursing and residential care facilities. 

Financial activities added 19,000 jobs in July. 

Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 14 cents to $33.74. For production and nonsupervisory employees, average hourly earnings rose by 13 cents to $28.96.