The newsletter you are currently reading is just one of the many publications ASA offers to help association members stay informed about all the important issues that could affect their businesses.

From Staffing Today (your daily source for up-to-the-minute staffing industry, employment, and economic news; legal and legislative updates; and industry research) to Staffing Success magazine (the award-winning flagship publication of ASA)—as well as the ASA for You newsletter, Staffing Law Digest, and ASA Research Brief enewsletter—ASA offers the resources to ensure that its ASA members are the best-informed professionals in the staffing, recruiting, and workforce solutions industry.

Subscriptions to ASA publications are a benefit of ASA membership. Has your company renewed its membership for 2022? Don’t let your member benefits lapse—renew today at americanstaffing.net/renew.

ASA members turned to the ASA Data Dashboard in record numbers in 2021 to navigate the uncertain economy throughout the pandemic, giving them valuable market and competitive insight and enabling them to make informed decisions about their business.

ASA members get special access to economic data, survey reports, research, and analysis relevant to the staffing industry. Has your company renewed its membership for 2022? Don’t let your member benefits lapse—renew today at americanstaffing.net/renew.

Staffing employment for the week of Dec. 6–12 edged up 0.7% from the previous week, increasing the ASA Staffing Index to a rounded value of 108. This marks the thirteenth consecutive week in which the index has measured 100 or greater, an achievement that has only occurred once before in 2014. Several staffing firms cited seasonal business fluctuations and Covid-19 as factors limiting further growth in temporary and contract staffing employment. There were 18.3% more staffing jobs compared with the same week in 2020.

Following the prior week’s surge, new starts contracted 8.4% on average, with a third of staffing companies reporting gains in new assignments week-to-week.

This week, containing the 12th day of the month, will be used in the December monthly employment situation report scheduled to be issued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Jan. 7.

U.S. staffing companies employed an average of 2.7 million temporary and contract workers per week in the third quarter of 2021, according to data released today by the American Staffing Association—up approximately 90,600 from the second quarter.

“The staffing industry is playing an increasingly important role in today’s labor market by providing talent sourcing expertise and workforce flexibility to employers in need of workers, and helping candidates find roles that are the right fit,” said Richard Wahlquist, ASA president and chief executive officer.

On a year-to-year basis, staffing jobs rose 15.2% in the third quarter of 2021 from the same period in 2020—which was still early in the economy’s recovery from the initial hit of the Covid-19 pandemic. Temporary and contract staffing sales totaled $36.1 billion in the third quarter, an increase of 21.8% from the third quarter of 2020.

Right now is the perfect time to invest in yourself, your company, and your future success. Through Dec. 31, you’ll receive a 15% discount on ASA education and research products—Certified Staffing Professional^®, Technical Services Certified^SM, Certified Search Consultant^®, or Certified Health Care Staffing Professional^® exam packages; professional onboarding courses on ASA Learn; and industry data and survey results such as the 2020 Candidate Sentiment Study.

Get your 15% discount by using the code HOLIDAY21 in the ASA Store. (The discount cannot be applied to renewal fees.) The sale ends Dec. 31.

Don’t miss the ASA webinar “ASA State of the Industry Webinar Series—A Quarterly Update for Staffing Professionals.” It takes place today from 3 to 4 p.m. Eastern time. The final installment of the quarterly webinar series for this year—presented by ASA and ClearlyRated, the association’s satisfaction survey partner—will focus on job candidates. Learn the keys to attracting, retaining, and placing more candidates for your firm—along with specific examples from the field and key legislative updates.

All ASA webinars are free for ASA members—has your company renewed its membership for 2022? Don’t let your member benefits lapse. Renew today at americanstaffing.net/renew.

Most ASA webinars qualify for continuing education hours toward ASA certification renewal. To learn more and to register, visit americanstaffing.net.

Don’t miss tomorrow’s ASA webinar “ASA State of the Industry Webinar Series—A Quarterly Update for Staffing Professionals,” 3–4 p.m. Eastern time. The final installment of the quarterly webinar series for this year—presented by ASA and ClearlyRated, the association’s satisfaction survey partner—will focus on job candidates. Learn the keys to attracting, retaining, and placing more candidates for your firm—along with specific examples from the field and key legislative updates.

All ASA webinars are free for ASA members—has your company renewed its membership for 2022? Don’t let your member benefits lapse. Renew today at americanstaffing.net/renew.

Most ASA webinars qualify for continuing education hours toward ASA certification renewal. To learn more and to register, visit americanstaffing.net.

With four in 10 U.S. adults (41%) likely to look for a new job within the next year, more than six in 10 (63%) say pay rate or salary would be among the most important factors if they were looking for a change, according to results from the latest ASA Workforce Monitor^® online survey conducted by The Harris Poll in late October and early November 2021.

“In the midst of the Great Resignation, employed individuals as well as active job seekers are looking at new opportunities for higher pay and more flexibility,” said Richard Wahlquist, president and chief executive officer of ASA. “If employers want to effectively compete in the war for talent, they’re going to have ensure their workers receive competitive compensation and that workplaces embrace flexible work schedules wherever feasible.”

The study also included new data surrounding Covid-19 vaccinations and mandates: 61% of U.S. adults say they would rather work for a company that requires employees to be vaccinated against Covid-19 than a company without such a requirement.

The ASA Workforce Monitor focuses on current U.S. workforce trends and issues. Learn more at americanstaffing.net/workforcemonitor.

This year ASA members have posted nearly 200 conversations on ASA Central, the staffing industry’s exclusive online community. Discussions range from building a list of prospective clients, to top recruiting practices, to vaccine requirements for health care providers—and more.

The dynamic online community is home to more than 27,000 staffing professional profiles and countless ongoing industry conversations—and it’s just for ASA members. Has your company renewed its membership for 2022? Don’t let your member benefits lapse—renew today at americanstaffing.net/renew.

The highly anticipated Staffing Industry Playbook, an annual economic analysis of the staffing industry, has just been released by ASA. The Staffing Industry Playbook provides data-driven information and insights that are critical to strategic planning and business development—in a user-friendly format—so you can understand the U.S. staffing and recruiting industry during the current economic disruption and evaluate where it’s headed.

You can also get a look at the major take-aways from the Staffing Industry Playbook in the year’s final installment of the Staffing STATS webinar series, sponsored by Essential StaffCARE. It takes place Thursday, Dec. 9, 2–3 p.m. Eastern time.

Visit americanstaffing.net/playbook to learn what you need to know about the U.S. staffing and recruiting industry, where it’s headed, and how you can make the most of this business intelligence. Plus, you can download charts and figures to share with clients and the media.