Feb Staffing in Feb Up 12% YOY

The continued improvement in these numbers means we can expect to see NFP continue their improvement…

BLS: February Staffing Shows Continued Growth with February Staffing Jobs Up 12% From a Year Ago

Seasonally adjusted staffing industry employment showed modest growth in February, increasing by 15,500 jobs (0.7%) from January, according to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, in a year-to-year comparison, staffing employment showed steady gains and was 12.2% higher than February of last year. BLS noted that job growth in the services sector was largely in employment services (29,000), most of which is temporary help.

“ASA members report that demand continues to increase across all sectors and in all parts of the country,” says Richard Wahlquist, ASA president and chief executive officer. “More than ever before, businesses are focused on the strategic use of talent, striking the right balance between enhancing productivity with current employees and increasing the size of their flexible and permanent work forces.”

Nonseasonally adjusted BLS data, which estimate the actual number of jobs in the economy, indicated that staffing employment was up 1.7% from January, performing better than the average 0.4% growth historically observed during February. On a year-to-year basis, there were 13.2% more workers employed in February compared with the same month in 2010. The ASA Staffing Index, which is also not seasonally adjusted and therefore is comparable to the nonadjusted employment figures reported by BLS, indicated a similar increase (13%) in staffing payrolls since February 2010.

The ASA Staffing Index is reported nine days after the end of each workweek, making it a virtual real-time measure of staffing employment trends.