The number of temporary help services jobs in the US fell by 14,100 in May to 2.73 million, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. And the temp penetration rate — temp jobs as a percent of total nonfarm employment — fell to 1.72% in May from 1.73% in April, continuing a downward trend.
On the other hand, total nonfarm employment rose by 272,000 jobs in May.
“May appears to have been another month of positive growth in the US economy and labor market, although demand for temporary staffing remains soft,” Timothy Landhuis, VP of research at SIA, said. “We note that modest recent monthly job increases in manufacturing and transportation could be early signs of a return to growth for the cyclical sectors of the economy that have traditionally been among the largest buyers of staffing.”
Manufacturing added 8,000 jobs in May, and transportation and warehousing added 10,600.
The BLS noted that areas of job growth in May included healthcare, government and leisure and hospitality.
- Healthcare added 68,000 jobs, in line with its average monthly growth of 64,000 over the prior 12 months. Employment was up in ambulatory healthcare services with an increase of 43,000.
- Government employment rose by 43,000.
- Leisure and hospitality added 42,000 jobs in May, similar to the average monthly gain of 35,000 over the prior 12 months.
- Professional, scientific and technical services added 32,000 jobs in May, higher than the average monthly gain of 19,000 over the prior 12 months.
The US unemployment rate edged upward to 4.0% in May from 3.9% in April. However, the college-level unemployment rate fell to 2.1% in May from 2.2% in April.
Average hourly earnings for all employees on nonfarm private payrolls rose by 14 cents to $34.91, an increase of 0.4% compared to the average increase of 4.1% over the past 12 months.
SIA has released a report on jobs numbers for a more in-depth look at the data.