Temp Hiring Nearing an Increase

Workers with skills and education will see more demand as managers remain cautious

By Jerome Idaszak, Associate Editor, The Kiplinger Letter

The market for temporary workers is poised to turn the corner in the next month or two For those with skills and/or more than a high school education, demand is growing Managers remain cautious, but firms are starting to conduct interviews, and hiring should soon follow Jobs leading the list will be in professional services such as engineering, accounting, information technology and health care

Despite favorable signs of an economic pickup, the rebound in temp hiring will be slower than usual after a recession Hiring is typically brisk as employers increase production instead of committing to full-time workers But this time, 8 million wage earners have part-time positions but would want to work full time, if business were better

So managers are likely to expand the hours of their part-timers before hiring from the outside As a result, a longer workweek may be a better indication of this recession's end

One surprise in hiring: mortgage processing "We've placed about 500 people in the past two months," says Joanie Ruge, senior vice president with Adecco Group, the largest temp staffing firm in North America She adds that health care and engineering have been strong, particularly in the Southeast and the Southwest, while the Northeast has seen gains in hotels and tourism related businesses

On the downside, there is less demand shaping up than is usually the case early in a recovery for lower skilled workers in construction Steve Berchem, vice president with the American Staffing Association, attributes the sluggishness to the large inventory of unsold homes, noting that construction hiring won't pick up for some time

Layoffs of temporary workers are slowing down, dipping to just 6,500 in August A total of 822,000 jobs have been lost since January 2008, leaving a depleted number of temp spots at around 18 million