Temporary Workers’ Employment, Wages Rose in 1996, Survey Finds

Employment and wages in the U.S. temporary services industry continued to grow in 1996, according to the National Assn. of Temporary and Staffing Services.

The number of people on the job as temporary workers averaged 2.311 million a day in 1996, a 6.9% increase over 1995, the industry survey found.

Wages paid to those workers last year rose 12.8% from 1995 to $31.461 billion. Temporary workers made up 1.87% of employed workers last year compared with 1.78% in 1995, the survey said.

The growth in temporary workers was slower in 1996 than in ‘95, when the average number of temps on the job daily rose 9.6% from the year before to 2.162 million. The 12.8% increase in temporary workers’ wages in 1996 was just under the 12.9% increase in 1995 over ’94.

Last year’s slower growth in temporary services was “a reflection of the trends occurring in the overall economy,” said Bruce Steinberg, director of research at the Alexandria, Va.-based trade association. “If more qualified workers were available, that number would have been higher.”

The U.S labor market tightened in 1996 as the nation added an average 222,000 jobs a month and the unemployment rate averaged 5.4% a month.

The total revenue of temporary help companies rose 11.2% last year to $43.6 billion, the highest level on record, according to the survey.