Seasonally adjusted employment data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that staffing firms added 7,700 new jobs from June to July (up 0.3%). In a year-to-year comparison, temporary help employment for the month was 6.7% higher than in July 2012.

Nonseasonally adjusted BLS data, which estimate the actual number of jobs in the economy, indicated that the staffing industry shed 24,900 jobs (down 0.9%) from June to July of this year, in line with historical trends for July. On a year-to-year basis, there were 6.8% more staffing employees in July than in the same month last year.

“Four years after the end of the recession, overall jobs recovery trends continue to be choppy,” says Richard Wahlquist, president and chief executive officer of the American Staffing Association. “While labor market demand has shown more stability this year, there has not been enough growth in the U.S. gross domestic product to date to jump-start sustained hiring across all sectors.”

Overall U.S. nonfarm payroll employment increased by 162,000 jobs in July, and the unemployment rate edged down to 7.4%. Over the past 12 months, employment growth has averaged 189,000 jobs per month.

Sectors adding jobs to the economy included retail trade (+47,000), food services and drinking places (+38,000), financial activities (+15,000), wholesale trade (+14,000), and professional and business services (+36,000). Employment in most other major industries showed little change over the month.