News Release

May 7, 2010

Temporary help firms continued to add jobs in April, according to the most recent employment data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Temporary help services employment rose by 26,200 additional jobs (2.0%), seasonally adjusted, from March to April.

BLS commissioner Keith Hall, in his statement to Congress, noted that temporary help services led job growth in the professional and business services sector and has added 330,000 new jobs since September. The U.S. staffing industry has created more new private sector jobs than any other.

"We are very encouraged about the strengthening of overall job growth," says Richard Wahlquist, president and chief executive officer of the American Staffing Association. "But businesses remain cautious about adding too many permanent workers too soon. A growing number are turning to staffing firms for flexible work force solutions as the economy continues to recover. This is good news, because it means more jobs for American workers."

Nonseasonally adjusted BLS data, which estimate the actual number of jobs in the economy, indicate that temporary help employment rose by 3.6% from March to April. On a year-to-year basis, there were 14.6% more staffing jobs in April 2010 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 March to April and year-to-year job growth of 19%.

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 research partner Inavero Institute for Service Research, a market research firm based in Portland, OR. Inavero has been working with ASA since 2007 to conduct surveys that gather information on trends in the staffing industry.

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