Contract staffing continues to be a major force in the economic recovery as the United States approaches a record high number of temporary/contract workers.
According to The Fordyce Letter’s analysis of the latest Bureau of Labor Statistic employment numbers, temporary/contract job growth was responsible for 12.3% of the 146,000 the jobs added in November. There are currently 2.56 million workers in temporary/contract positions, which is a 7.7% increase over November 2011. More importantly, it’s inching very close to the all-time record of 2.66 million that was set in August 2006. It is predicted that milestone will be reached by the summer 2013, The Fordyce Letter reported.
This is not a temporary surge. In fact, the BLS predicts that the employment services industry will add jobs at a rate of 2.1% per year with 3.3 million Americans working in temporary/contract positions by 2020. If this holds true, the employment services industry will be one of the leading industries in employment growth during that period.
These statistics show that companies value the flexibility contract staffing provides. As economic uncertainty reigns, particularly in the face of Obamacare and the potential fiscal cliff, we expect that more companies will make contractors part of their workforce mix so they can more effectively react to the ebbs and flows of their businesses.
