US temporary jobs were up 3.9% in April compared to the same month last year, according to seasonally adjusted numbers released today by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Temporary help services jobs rose by 10,300 in April from March.

The temp penetration rate — temporary jobs as a percent of total employment — ticked up to 2.039% in April from March’s revised figure of 2.035%. 

Total nonfarm jobs rose by 164,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis in April. The US unemployment rate edged down to 3.9% in April from 4.1% in both March and February. The college-level unemployment rate — which can serve as a proxy for professional employment — edged down to 2.1% in April from 2.2% in March.

“Over the past three months, the labor force has increased by an average of 137,000,” said Tony Gregoire, research director at Staffing Industry Analysts. “If we expect the unemployment rate to remain about flat for the duration of this economic expansion, the 137,000 — let’s say 150,000 — monthly rise in the labor force may be a rough proxy for ongoing monthly job growth, though data may be choppy from month to month.”

The US labor market continues to tighten, although job growth in April was 164,000, a little below expectations, according to Gad Levanon, chief economist, North America, at The Conference Board. The unemployment rate was one of the lowest rates in recent history, and the broader measure of labor underutilization U-6 declined to 7.8%, the lowest rate since 2001.

“The tightening labor market is a result of a simple reality: when the working age population is barely growing, even moderate job growth is enough to significantly tighten the labor market,” Levanon said in a statement. “Based on present data, there is no reason to believe that this trend will stop anytime soon, meaning a much tighter labor market a year from now.”

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