Staffing Statistics

A sustained upturn in staffing industry employment would signal the end of the current recession and suggest that overall, employment would begin to grow about three months later, according to new research by the American Staffing Association.

Staffing industry employment has long been considered a popular indicator of current economic conditions and a precursor of overall employment trends. Recent ASA research confirmed this conventional wisdom, but added important nuance.

Key Findings

* Staffing industry employment is a strong coincident economic indicator when the economy is emerging from a recession.
* Staffing industry employment is a leading indicator for nonfarm employment—by about three months when the economy is emerging from a recession.

These conclusions were drawn from statistical analyses of 36 years of government data.

Staffing 2009: Looking for Growth

After one of the most difficult years, everyone is looking for signs of growth. The staffing industry is a good place to start.

The staffing industry has long been considered a coincident economic indicator and a leading employment indicator. That means that changes in the staffing industry coincide with changes in the overall economy.

Despite the current recession,the staffing industry is anticipated to grow faster and add more new jobs over the next decade than just about any other industry.

According to the most recent projections,the employment services industry—which is primarily staffing—is estimated to add 692,000 jobs between 2006 and 2016, making it the second largest job-growth industry.

Jobs, flexibility, a bridge to permanent employment, choice of alternative employment arrangements, and training—these are the benefits staffing firms offer to today's workers. Flexibility and access to talent—these are the benefits staffing firms bring to business clients. Jobs, labor market flexibility, efficient bridging to permanent jobs, training, lower unemployment rates, and enhanced productivity—these are the benefits staffing firms bring to the economy. Read about these benefits in American Staffing 2009, the ASA annual economic analysis.