Following a sharp decline the week prior due to the Fourth of July holiday, staffing employment surged in the week of July 10-16, with the ASA Staffing Index increasing by 7.6% to a rounded value of 101. A few staffing companies listed a holiday as a barrier preventing further growth. Staffing jobs were 5.4% below the same week last year.
New starts in the 28th week of the year grew 26.1% from the prior week as nearly two-thirds of staffing companies (63%) reported gains in new assignments week to week.
The ASA Staffing Index four-week moving average held steady at a rounded value of 98, and temporary and contract staffing employment for the four weeks ending July 16 was 6.4% lower than the same period in 2022.
“While temporary and contract hiring has fallen since last year, it’s still above pre-pandemic levels,” said Tim Hulley, ASA assistant director of research.
This week, containing the 12th day of the month, will be used in the July monthly employment situation report scheduled to be issued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Aug. 4.
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.
