News Release

April 2, 2010

With the addition of more than 40,000 new jobs in March, the staffing industry has marked six consecutive months of job growth—the first such string since 2005—according to data released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Aside from federal government employment expansion due mostly to the temporary hiring of 48,000 census workers, the staffing industry created more new jobs in March than any other sector of the economy.

Staffing employment in March increased 2% over February, bringing the total number of new jobs created by the industry to 313,000 since September, noted BLS commissioner Keith Hall.

"As has historically been the case, the staffing industry continues to lead the nation in job creation as we transition from recession to recovery," says Richard Wahlquist, president and chief executive officer of the American Staffing Association. "With such a high unemployment rate, though, it's understandable that confidence in the recovery remains shaky. Nonetheless, we expect to see continued growth in temporary and long-term contract jobs, as well as increases in permanent hiring, during the course of this year as businesses ramp up to meet increases in demand."

The temporary workers hired to conduct the 2010 Census are federal government employees and are not counted as temporary help industry employees.

Nonseasonally adjusted BLS data, which estimate the actual number of jobs in the economy, indicate that temporary help employment rose by 3.2% from February to March. On a year-to-year basis, there were 9.9% more staffing jobs in March compared with the same month last year. The ASA Staffing Index, which is also not seasonally adjusted and therefore is comparable to the nonadjusted employment figures reported by BLS, showed an increase of almost 4% from February to March; year-to-year job growth was 15%.

The ASA Staffing Index is reported nine days after each workweek, making it a virtual real-time measure of staffing employment trends. ASA research shows that staffing employment is a coincident economic indicator and leading employment indicator, especially when the economy is emerging from a recession. Data for the index are gathered by ASA corporate partner Inavero Institute for Service Research, a market research firm based in Portland, OR.

For more information, visit americanstaffing.net/newsroom. You can also follow ASA on Twitter at twitter.com/staffingtweets.

Interviews with ASA executives are available.

The American Staffing Association promotes legal, ethical, and professional practices for the $61 billion U.S. staffing industry. ASA members account for 85% of U.S. staffing industry sales and operate some 14,000 offices throughout the nation. Two million Americans go to work for U.S. staffing companies every business day.

Founded to promote flexible employment opportunities and ensure the quality of staffing services, ASA has been the voice of the U.S. staffing industry since 1966. Members provide a wide range of employment services and solutions, including temporary and contract staffing, recruiting and permanent placement, outplacement and outsourcing, training, and human resource consulting. ASA and its affiliated chapters promote the interests of the industry through legal and legislative advocacy, public relations, education, and the establishment of high standards of ethical conduct.

Contact
Reem El-Khatib
Public Relations Coordinator
703-253-2047
relkhatib@americanstaffing.net