Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Job losses in temporary help services

April 14, 2009

Temporary help employment peaked in December 2006, a full year ahead of total nonfarm employment, and had fallen by almost 620,000 by December 2008.

Temporary help job losses over 3 contractions (Percent change since total nonfarm employment peak)
[Chart data—TXT]

Many see temporary help employment as a leading indicator of labor demand.

Job losses in temporary help services during the current contraction were similar to those seen in 2001 until about 10 months into the contraction, when job losses recovered slightly and employment in the industry stabilized. In 2008, the temporary help services industry continued to experience job losses at an accelerated pace.

Employment losses in temporary help services during the 1990 contraction were relatively mild, and the industry recovered within 2 years.

These data are from the Current Employment Statistics program and are seasonally adjusted. For more information, see "Substantial job losses in 2008: weakness broadens and deepens across industries," by Laura A. Kelter, Monthly Labor Review, March 2009.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Job losses in temporary help services at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2009/apr/wk2/art02.htm (visited March 28, 2024).

OF INTEREST
spotlight
Recent editions of Spotlight on Statistics


triangle