Weekly Report:
July 28–Aug. 3, 2008
During the week of July 28–Aug. 3, temporary and contract employment increased 0.12%, resulting in an ASA Staffing Index value of 97, which is unchanged. The overall demand for staffing employees has been increasing slightly since the Fourth of July holiday dip. Nonetheless, the index remains six points below the same week last year, indicating shrinkage in temporary and contract employment over the last 12 months.
Monthly Report:
July 2008
The ASA Staffing Index decreased from June to July. The index level during the week of July 7–13 was 95, down four points from the week of June 9–15. Index weeks containing the 12th are compared monthly to match the reference periods used by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in its monthly employment situation reports, which contain data on the temporary help industry. Because the same reference period is used in both the ASA Staffing Index and BLS monthly reports, the two data series can be easily compared. ASA data are not adjusted for seasonal factors and should be compared to nonseasonally adjusted BLS data.
Prior to July, the index had been hovering around 100 since the middle of January. The increase in demand for temporary and contract employees that typically occurs throughout the calendar year has not been seen in 2008. Anecdotally, ASA members have described mixed demand from clients, reporting that demand for higher skilled workers has remained strong. While some sectors of the staffing industry have seen increased demand for staffing employees, other sectors have experienced decreased demand—resulting in the flatness in the index level seen through the first half of the year until July's decrease.
On an annual basis, the index was down seven points from its level during this week last year when it was at 102.
|
Staffing Index
The ASA Staffing Index estimates weekly changes in the number of people employed in temporary and contract work. ASA developed the index to provide a current measure of staffing industry employment trends.
The index helps answer the question, "How's business?" It allows staffing companies to evaluate their performance against a national metric on both a weekly and long-term basis.
The ASA Staffing Index also serves as a valuable resource for economists, journalists, analysts, researchers and policy makers who are interested in current trends in staffing employment.
Two numbers are reported weekly. The first is the weekly percentage change in staffing employment. The second is the index itself, which shows staffing employment trends over time. Both numbers are normally posted on the ASA Web site on Tuesday mornings, except after most federal holidays when the report is released Wednesday. Weekly report holiday schedule.
Survey Details
- Data are reported typically 16 days after the close of the work week.
- The methodology mirrors that of the quarterly ASA Staffing Employment and Sales Survey, based on a model developed by Standard and Poor's DRI in 1992.
- The baseline value for the ASA Staffing Index was set at 100 in June 2006. Data for the index are gathered by ASA corporate partner Inavero Institute for Service Research, a market research firm based in Portland, OR.
- Data are obtained through a secure Web-based questionnaire, accessed via customized invitation e-mail sent to participants every Friday.
- Participants receive a weekly e-mail report on the survey results.
- A monthly summary of the weekly results is available via e-mail to economists, journalists, analysts, researchers, policy makers, and other industry observers. Contact Reem El-Khatib at relkhatib@americanstaffing.net or 703-253-2047 for more information.
View a backgrounder on the index: Staffing, Jobs, and the Economy.
Participation Information
ASA invites all U.S. staffing firms to participate in the Staffing Index survey. There are no fees for participation, and the survey takes only a couple of minutes each week to complete. Participants receive two e-mails per week: a Friday morning invitation to complete the survey and a report on the weekly results.
Contact
Danielle Elbeze
Research Assistant
703-253-2041
delbeze@americanstaffing.net
|