Weekly Report:
April 14–20, 2008
During the week of April 14–20, temporary and contract employment increased by 0.49%. The ASA Staffing Index remained at 100. The index has been mostly flat as the demand for staffing employees has changed only minimally from week to week since the middle of January.
Monthly Report:
April 2008
Demand for temporary and contract employees in April was virtually the same as in March. The ASA Staffing Index was at 100 the week of April 7–13, the same as the week of March 10–16. 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 publishes the monthly index report three days prior to the BLS employment situation report, which is typically released on the first Friday of the month.
The ASA Staffing Index shows that the demand for staffing employees has been relatively flat since mid-January. A similar trend was observed in the first quarter of last year.
The index entered the March 10 through April 13 period at 100, holding that value for three consecutive weeks. The value increased to 101 the week of March 24–30 and remained there the following week, March 31–April 6, before easing back to 100 the week of April 7–13.
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Staffing Index
The ASA Staffing Index estimates weekly changes in the number of people employed in temporary and contract work. ASA developed the index to provide a current measure of staffing industry employment trends.
The index helps answer the question, "How’s business?" It allows staffing companies to evaluate their performance against a national metric on both a weekly and long-term basis.
The ASA Staffing Index also serves as a valuable resource for economists, journalists, analysts, researchers, policy makers, and others who recognize that staffing industry employment is a coincident economic indicator and a leading indicator of overall U.S. employment.
Two numbers are reported weekly. The first is the weekly percentage change in staffing employment. The second is the index itself, which shows staffing employment trends over time. Both numbers are normally posted on the ASA Web site on Tuesday mornings, except after most federal holidays when the report is released Wednesday. Weekly report holiday schedule.
Survey Details
- Data are reported typically 16 days after the close of the work week.
- The methodology mirrors that of the quarterly ASA Staffing Employment and Sales Survey, based on a model developed by Standard and Poor's DRI in 1992.
- Results are compiled by ASA corporate partner Inavero Institute for Service Research, a market research firm, to ensure confidentiality of participant data. ASA does not have access to individual company information and reports only aggregate results.
- Data are obtained through a secure Web-based questionnaire, accessed via customized invitation e-mail sent to participants every Friday.
- Participants receive a weekly e-mail report on the survey results.
- A monthly summary of the weekly results is available via e-mail to economists, journalists, analysts, researchers, policy makers, and other industry observers. Contact Reem El-Khatib at relkhatib@americanstaffing.net or 703-253-2047 for more information.
View a backgrounder on the index: Staffing, Jobs, and the Economy.
Participation Information
ASA invites all U.S. staffing firms to participate in the Staffing Index survey. There are no fees for participation, and the survey takes only a couple of minutes each week to complete. Participants receive two e-mails per week: a Friday morning invitation to complete the survey and a report on the weekly results.
Contact
Jessica Sincavage
Director of Research
703-253-2048
jsincavage@americanstaffing.net
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