Up 3.9% From a Year Ago, Maintaining Steady Pace of Growth
Temporary help employment grew 0.6% from October to November, and was 3.9% higher than in November 2016, according to seasonally adjusted data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Year-to-year staffing job growth has averaged 4.1% per month over the past 11 months, significantly higher than the average of 1.4% for all of 2016, as reported by BLS earlier this year following a series of downward adjustments.
Non seasonally adjusted BLS data, which estimate the actual number of jobs in the economy, indicated that temporary help employment increased 1.1% from October to November. Year-to-year, there were 4.0% more staffing employees in November than in the same month last year.
“Business confidence is up and a majority of employers report they are planning on expanding their talent pools in the year ahead,” said Richard Wahlquist, president and chief executive officer of the American Staffing Association. “The advice to job seekers is don’t wait until January to begin connecting with recruiters. You will have less competition in December and a better chance to hit the ground running with a new job in the new year.”
Total U.S. non farm payroll employment rose by 228,000 jobs in November (seasonally adjusted), BLS reported. Incorporating revisions for September and October, job gains averaged 170,000 per month over the past three months, slightly more than the average of 167,00 for the prior 12 months.
The November unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1%.
BLS also released preliminary October employment data for search and placement services, which, seasonally adjusted, were unchanged from September. Search and placement jobs totaled 293,100 in October, 0.3% lower than in the same month last year.
