Tuesday, May 25, 2010

ASA Staffing Index Reaches 76-Week High in April

The American Staffing Association (ASA) reported that its weekly index reached a 78-week high of 89 during the week of May 10, the highest reading since early November 2008, 18 months ago (see top chart above). In the first 19 weeks of this year, the Staffing Index has increased or remained flat in every week except one. Compared to the same week in the previous year, the ASA index increased by 23.6% in the second week of May, and has registered double-digit percentage increases for the last 13 weeks (see bottom chart above). 

Note: Temporary hiring is often the first step towards a permanent, full-time position, and it's becoming increasingly common for companies to hire new workers on a 90-day temporary basis, and then those temporary positions often get converted to full-time positions after the trial period.

For example: "Temporary employment is filling a key niche during the current spike in joblessness. But, perhaps its most important function is that it doesn't necessarily have to be temporary. More employers are starting to turn interim positions into full-time job opportunities."

4 Comments:

At 5/25/2010 11:35 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is proof that Parkinson's Law (book by C. Northcote Parkinson) is alive and well -- especially upon university campuses, which is where Parkinson first observed it.

 
At 5/25/2010 12:33 PM, Anonymous morganovich said...

another way to look at it is that the current absolute level of this index is still 19% off levels fromt he end of 2007 and at a level that would have been the second lowest monthly reading prior to 2008.

these are just easy yoy comps, not a return to prosperity.

the reading is currently 89 vs 100 in month 20 2008, an 11% decline.

 
At 5/25/2010 8:16 PM, Blogger sethstorm said...


Temporary employment is filling a key niche during the current spike in joblessness. But, perhaps its most important function is that it doesn't necessarily have to be temporary.

...in that temporary employment becomes a way to screw people over on a more permanent basis.

 
At 5/25/2010 11:03 PM, Blogger sethstorm said...

If temporary employment was indeed temporary in its existence, I would have a bit more trust in it. It's that it is being used for a bit more than its original purpose.

However, it is being used more as a way to get out of 'x' regulation on a more permanent basis. It lessens the position of the person doing the work, given them being even more disposable than a regular, full-time person.

If someone really *wants* to do that, fine. Don't force it as a matter of it being the "least evil" on someone.

 

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