The number of workers employed per week by the US staffing industry edged down 0.5% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, according to data released by the American Staffing Association. US staffing companies employed an average of 3.07 million temporary and contract workers per week in the first quarter.

Sequentially, staffing employment and sales typically peak in the fourth quarter, decline in the first quarter, and grow in subsequent quarters. That seasonal pattern held, with staffing employment contracting by 8.1% from the fourth quarter.

“Temporary and contract employment is an indicator of where the economy is today,” said ASA President and CEO Richard Wahlquist. “The good news at this stage of the economic cycle is that while staffing employment growth was constrained in the first quarter by talent shortages across a wide range of occupations, the demand for temporary and contract employees is steady and is expected to remain so.”

The ASA staffing employment and sales survey is conducted on a quarterly basis, covering approximately 10,000 establishments.