The state with the biggest percentage increase in staffing industry employment in August was Kentucky, according to data released last week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that was not seasonally adjusted. Jobs in the “employment services industry” rose 19.7 percent year-over-year to 58,900 in August.

The employment services industry includes employment placement agencies, temporary help services, executive search services and professional employer organizations. However, the “temporary help services” category typically represents the lion’s share of workers.

Maryland ranked No. 2, with the number of “employment services industry” jobs rising by 15.4 percent to 48,000.

On the other side, Rhode Island recorded the biggest percentage decrease in “employment services industry” with a decline of 7.1 percent to 7,800 jobs.

The rankings include a majority of states, but not all of them. The bureau made data available for only 35 states and the District of Columbia.

California posted the biggest increase in terms of total number of staffing jobs, adding 27,600 “employment services industry” jobs in August from the same month last year. California also ranked as the state with the most staffing jobs overall with 374,100 people employed in the industry.

The number of jobs in the “temporary help services” category, a subset of the “employment services industry” was reported only by Michigan and New York at this time, according to the BLS.

Michigan recorded 102,200 “temporary help services” jobs in August, up 10.5 percent year-over-year. New York posted 106,500 jobs in the sector, up 18.3 percent year-over-year.

Click on the chart below for information by state.