The average number of temporary workers in the U.S. slipped in the first quarter as did the number of North American executive searches, according to reports by two industry organizations.

U.S. staffing firms employed an average of 2.8 million temporary and contract workers per day in the first quarter, down 1.7% from the same period in 2007, according to the American Staffing Association's quarterly employment and sales survey. This is the fourth time since the 2001 recession there has been a year-over-year decline in temp staffing, the ASA noted.

Separately, the Association of Executive Search Consultants reported the number of executive searches in North America fell 3.2% year-over-year in the first quarter. However, the number of searches worldwide increased 1.4%. The AESC survey is based on a sample of search firms representing more than 1,500 executive search consultants in 46 countries.