Temporary Help Services Gets Second Wind

Mountain View, California — November 7, 2016 — A total of 161,000 jobs were added to the US economy in October, according to seasonally adjusted data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in line with expectations.

The sectors driving overall growth this month were Healthcare & Social Assistance (+39,100), Professional Services (excluding temporary help, +36,600), Government (+19,000), Financial Services (+14,000), Education (+13,500) and Construction (+11,000). Year-on-year total nonfarm employment rose 1.7%. Manufacturing (-9,000) posted job losses this month. 

Temporary help services added 6,400 jobs, nearly twice its last 12-month average of 3,300 jobs. The temporary penetration rate remained at 2.04%, just below its December 2015 all-time high of 2.06%. Year-on-year temporary help employment was up 1.3%. Revisions to the temporary services sector – for August, from -1,000 to -2,800, and for September, from +23,200 to +31,000, – together augmented previously reported gains by 6,000 jobs.

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“With year-on-year growth in the temporary help services rebounding to 1.3% after a June low of 0.8%, we are seeing a moderate improvement temporary help employment conditions,” said Barry Asin, President of Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA). “Regarding overall employment, it’s notable that the largest monthly increase percentage-wise came in the education sector, and that the sector’s annual growth at 2.6% is nearly equal that of healthcare & social assistance. Temporary education staffing is projected to be the fastest-growing staffing sector in 2017, according to our industry forecast.”

The unemployment rate was down 9 basis points to 4.88%, indicative of a continued tight job market.

SIA’s full November Jobs Report analysis is available here. 

About Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA)

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Founded in 1989, SIA is the global advisor on staffing and workforce solutions. Our proprietary research covers all categories of employed and non-employed work including temporary staffing, independent contracting and other types of contingent labor. SIA’s independent and objective analysis provides insights into the services and suppliers operating in the workforce solutions ecosystem including staffing firms, managed service providers, recruitment process outsourcers, payrolling/compliance firms and talent acquisition technology specialists such as vendor management systems, online staffing platforms, crowdsourcing and online work services. We also provide training and accreditation with our unique Certified Contingent Workforce Professional (CCWP) program.

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