Hiring Temporary Talent Boosts Employment, Jobless Rate Unchanged

Temporary talent is helping U.S. employers fill the gap rather than hiring full time employees.

In a new report from ManpowerGroup, temporary workers, a significant component of a company’s needed flexible work model, remain key to jolting and sustaining business growth, as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics today reported that the overall January jobless rate was 7.9%, up from 7.8% in December 2012.

The U.S. private sector added 157,000 new jobs last month, while December’s jobs figure was revised up to 196,000 from 155,000, and November increased to 247,000 from 161,000.

In 2012, the economy added an average of 181,000 jobs a month. Employment in January increased in retail, construction, health care and wholesale trade.

At the same time, millions of Americans have been unemployed for years, labor force participation rates are at a 30-year low and the economic and social outcomes of long-term unemployment are gaining traction.

Hiring Temporary Talent

JeffreyJoerres: companies hiring temporary talent

Jeffrey Joerres

“Hiring talent on a temporary basis enables companies to assess and align the increasingly broad range of modern skills – and even discover new ones – that will give them a competitive edge in their industry,” said Jeffrey A. Joerres, ManpowerGroup chairman and CEO.

“In turn, employed workers jolt broader economic growth, as they boost consumer spending and the housing market. And not only do they develop and implement the critical business strategies, but they start new enterprises that create more jobs.

“The science of harnessing cutting edge skills to drive business success is only starting to be realized by today’s most progressive companies,” Joerres added. “I am excited to see our clients reinforce their flexible work models in 2013, to enable them to respond to fluctuating demand and execute their business strategies.”

As uncertainty remains the norm of today’s economy, companies will need to become increasing agile to drive change.

ManpowerGroup also advises unemployed workers to critically assess the temporary opportunities available in today’s marketplace.

“For workers, temporary roles are a golden ticket to learning about skills in demand by today’s employers – and an excellent platform for actually using and refining skills, while earning an income,” said ManpowerGroup President Jonas Prising. “ManpowerGroup drives business success with skills assessment and development tools that align the right talent with the right business opportunity.”

ManpowerGroup has 636,000 people globally on assignment each day.

According to ManpowerGroup’s 2012 Talent Shortage Survey results, 49% of U.S. employers struggle to fill mission-critical positions.

Skilled trades, engineering and IT positions continue to rank among the top 10 most difficult jobs to fill, year after year.

In January 2011, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, ManpowerGroup announced the world has entered the Human Age, where talent has replaced capital as the key competitive differentiator.

This concept of talentism as the new capitalism continues to resonate and was echoed as a core theme of the 2012 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Learn more at www.manpowergroup.com/humanage

List your business in the premium web directory for free This website is listed under Human Resources Directory