Seasonally adjusted employment data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that staffing firms added 13,100 new jobs from July to August (up 0.5%). In a year-to-year comparison, temporary help employment for the month was 7.2% higher than in August 2012.
Nonseasonally adjusted BLS data, which estimate the actual number of jobs in the economy, indicated that the staffing industry added 64,700 jobs from July to August of this year (up 2.4%). On a year-to-year basis, there were 7.2% more staffing employees in August than in the same month last year.
“While demand remains uneven in different sectors and in different regions of the country, staffing firms are generally more optimistic about increases in job growth over the balance of the year,” says Richard Wahlquist, president and chief executive officer of the American Staffing Association. “At the same time, shortages of workers in skilled trades and information technology continues to be an issue for many employers.”
Overall U.S. nonfarm payroll employment increased by 169,000 jobs in August and the unemployment rate edged down to 7.3%. Over the past 12 months, employment growth has averaged 184,000 jobs per month.
Sectors adding jobs to the economy included retail trade (+44,000), health care (+33,000), professional and business services (+23,000), and food services and drinking places (+21,000). Within the information sector, the motion picture and sound recording industry lost 22,000 jobs in August. Employment in most other major industries showed little change over the month.
Nonseasonally adjusted search and placement employment was up 2.3% from June to July, totaling 295,600 jobs. In a year-over-year comparison, nonseasonally adjusted employment for this staffing segment was up 8.6%.
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