Temp Staffing Index Nudges Higher

The temp staffing index rose last week to the 91 level. Since February, with the exception of the July 4th holiday week, the index has been in a steady, if unspectacular uptrend. It does also point to continued improvement in the overall employment situation.

The index has behaved a bit like the economic outlook of corporations. It has risen to a level, paused as if to see if things were going to keep getting better, then when they do, it rises again to the next level before pausing again. This process has essentially repeated this whole year. I’m not sure there is any earth shattering conclusion for this other than business is cautiously adding jobs and based on the lead time of the data, this trend ought to continue through Q4

Here is the chart: