As the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that U.S. employers added more than 227,000 jobs in February and the unemployment rate remained steady at 8.3 percent, the U.S. labor market could be gaining steam, according to staffing company Express Employment Professionals.
The average number of hours worked per week also improved 34.5 in December 2011, according to the Economic Policy Institute, which is up from 33.8 hours in March 2009 and near the prerecession average of 34.6 hours.
"February's positive jobs report shows that employers are increasingly confident that the economic recovery is gaining traction," says Robert A. Funk, Express Employment Professionals CEO and chairman of the board. "Because businesses have already restored the hours of existing workers, they are more likely to add new workers to meet additional demand. However, many employers remain wary of adding full-time headcount and are turning to temporary staffing companies to give them the option of growth without the risk and expense."
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Based on BLS figures, the number of workers employed by staffing services grew 7 percent from January 2011 to January 2012, which could be beneficial for the overall job market, says Express Employment Professionals. An analysis of hiring trends from 1972 through 2008 by the American Staffing Association finds that temporary employment is typically the primary indicator of the overall employment market by three to six months.
"The growth of hiring by staffing services is good news for the economy since staffing companies have traditionally served as a bellwether for the health of the U.S. job market," Funk says. "Temporary workers tend to be among the first cut during economic downturns and the first hired when the job market bounces back."
Still, as job opportunities improve, turnover among disengaged workers increases, and recruiters are expected to be on the move to find top talent, Funk says. In fact, according to a McKinsey Global Institute study, 71 percent of business leaders expect an increase in generation X and Y turnover, and a separate study by Deloitte reveals that 65 percent of employees are actively testing the job market.
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