March 08, 2024
The US added 275,000 nonfarm jobs in February for a total of 157.8 million, but the number of temporary help services jobs fell, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
Temp jobs fell by 15,400 in February from January for a total of approximately 2.75 million. The temp penetration rate — temp jobs as a percent of total nonfarm employment — fell to 1.74% in February from 1.75% in January.
“Demand for temporary help services has appeared uncharacteristically soft in the first two months of this year, with many clients focused on streamlining costs,” Timothy Landhuis, VP of research at SIA, said. “Nevertheless, with most economists projecting solid growth in the US economy this year, we are keeping our eyes open for signs of an eventual uptick in demand for temporary staffing.”
Nonfarm employment’s gain was above expectations; however, January’s monthly gain was revised down by 124,000. Still, the labor market remains strong from a historical perspective.
The BLS reported the US gained an average of 230,000 jobs per month over the prior 12 months. Job gains in February occurred in healthcare, government and in food services and drinking places.
Healthcare services saw an increase of 67,000. That’s above the industry’s average monthly gain of 58,000 over the past 12 months.
The US unemployment rate rose to 3.9% in February from 3.7% in January. The college-level unemployment rate also rose to 2.2% from 2.1%.
Average hourly earnings for all employees on private payrolls rose by five cents to $34.57. That’s below January’s increase of 18 cents.
For a deeper dive into today’s jobs numbers, see this report by SIA.