News Release

July 21, 2009

Demand for temporary and contract employees remained relatively unchanged from June to July, continuing the stabilization trend in staffing employment noted over the past six months. The index was at 73 for the first two weeks (June 15–28) of the monthly period measured. The index then declined three points to 70 during the week of the July 4 Independence Day holiday (June 29–July 5), when temporary staffing characteristically experiences a dip in employment. The index rebounded slightly to 71 the following week (July 6–12), reflecting the uptick in staffing assignments that is typical of a post-holiday week.

In an effort to improve the ASA Staffing Index as a current measure of staffing industry employment trends, beginning June 23, the weekly index number is now based on temporary employment data reported nine days after the close of the workweek. Previously, there has been a 16-day period from the close of a given workweek to when the index was reported. The shorter lag in reporting will make the index a more current, near real-time indicator of staffing employment. The baseline value for the ASA Staffing Index was set at 100 in June 2006. Data for the index are gathered by ASA corporate partner Inavero Institute for Service Research, a market research firm based in Portland, OR.

Index weeks containing the 12th are compared monthly to match the reference periods used by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in its monthly employment situation reports, which contain data on the temporary help industry. Because the same reference period is used in both the ASA Staffing Index and BLS monthly reports, the two data series can be easily compared. ASA data are not adjusted for seasonal factors and should be compared to nonseasonally adjusted BLS data.

Many industry analysts cite staffing industry employment as a coincident economic indicator and leading indicator of overall U.S. employment. New research released June 23 by ASA reinforces this with some added distinctions—staffing employment is a strong coincident economic indicator when the economy is emerging from a recession and is a three-month leading indicator of nonfarm employment when the economy is emerging from a recession. The relative flatness of the index since the beginning of the year signals stabilization in staffing employment, which is a prerequisite for economic recovery.

For more information visit americanstaffing.net.

Interviews with ASA executives are available.

The American Staffing Association promotes legal, ethical, and professional practices for the $86 billion U.S. staffing industry. ASA members account for 85% of U.S. staffing industry sales and operate more than 15,000 offices throughout the nation. Some 2.7 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