Staffing employment rebounded further in the week of Jan. 8-15, increasing by 3.4% to a rounded value of 101. Several staffing companies mentioned a holiday as a barrier to preventing further growth. Staffing jobs were up 0.15% from the same week last year.
New starts rose in the 2nd week of the year, increasing by 7% from the prior week. More than half of staffing companies (53%) reported gains in new assignments week-to-week.
The ASA Staffing Index four-week moving average edged down from the prior week to a rounded value of 95, but temporary and contract staffing employment for the four weeks ending Jan. 15 was 0.23% higher than the same period in 2021.
“Staffing employment has followed up a December holiday lull with two weeks of growth, in line with the typical seasonal pattern,” said Tim Hulley, ASA assistant director of research.
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 Feb. 3.
The ASA Staffing Index is reported nine days after each workweek, making it a near real-time measure of staffing employment trends. ASA Staffing Starts are the number of temporary and contract employees placed in new assignments during the reporting week. ASA research shows that staffing employment has historically been a coincident economic indicator.
