Staffing Employment Lost 186,000 Jobs From
4Q23 to 1Q24,
a Q-to-Q Decline of 7.7%
ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 27,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. staffing companies employed
an average of 2.2 million temporary and contract workers per week
in the first quarter of 2024, according to data released today by
the American Staffing
Association—down by 186,000 from the fourth quarter of
2023.
On a quarter-to-quarter basis, staffing employment and sales
typically decline in the first quarter, grow in subsequent
quarters, and peak in the fourth quarter. Staffing employment,
however, declined at the end of 2023 as the industry contended with
tightening macroeconomic conditions that slowed staffing growth.
Thus, while a quarter-to-quarter decline of 7.7% in staffing
employment is on par with the average since 2008, on a year-to-year
basis staffing employment fell 13.9%.
Temporary and contract staffing sales declined in a similar
manner. Totaling $31.5 billion in the
first quarter of 2024, staffing sales were down 8.4% from the
fourth quarter of 2023 and down 15.9% from the first quarter of
2023.
"The labor market remains healthy despite some erosion from
tightening economic conditions. Growth is strong but concentrated
within a handful of sectors, which raises the bar for staffing and
recruiting companies when finding new opportunities to serve
clients and talent. Staffing companies are often the first to face
the costs of lower labor demand, and the first to benefit in
the uptick that lies beyond the trough. With increasing odds
of a soft landing, staffing and recruiting companies are cautiously
optimistic about the second half of the year as economic conditions
normalize," said Richard
Wahlquist, ASA chief executive officer.
Looking ahead, private staffing companies are projecting their
third quarter revenue to grow 1.6% year-to-year, and their full
year 2024 sales to increase 0.7%, compared with 2023.
To learn more about the quarterly ASA Staffing Employment and
Sales Survey, visit americanstaffing.net/quarterly-survey,
or follow ASA research on Twitter.
About the American Staffing
Association
The American Staffing Association
is the voice of the U.S. staffing, recruiting, and workforce
solutions industry. ASA and its state affiliates advance the
interests of the industry across all sectors through advocacy,
research, education, and the promotion of high standards of legal,
ethical, and professional practices. For more information about
ASA, visit americanstaffing.net.
Contact
Megan Sweeney
American Staffing Association
703-253-1151
msweeney@americanstaffing.net
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SOURCE American Staffing
Association