Dive Brief:
- Data just released from the American Staffing Association shows staffing firms had put, on average, 3.22 million temporary and contract employees to work per week in the third quarter of 2017. That number represents the 14th consecutive quarter staffing levels have exceeded 3 million.
- Compared to the same period last year, the number of employees remained steady, with less than 1% difference. But staffing sales rose 4.4% over the same period from 2016, topping Q3 2017 at $33.71 billion dollars.
- Staffing firms and their clients are feeling pains from the skills gap; employers are reporting talent shortages across "many sectors," the report shows. ASA leadership notes the skills gap is "real and growing" and that U.S. businesses are increasingly seeking upskilling, training and work-based learning programs to meet staffing needs.
Dive Insight:
The skills gap continues to confound employers, including those who look to fill their needs with temporary and contract employees.
Use of temp work has increased considerably, and not just through formal staffing agencies. Freelancers and contract workers have found a strong market for their skills thanks to the flexibility contracting can bring to both sides of the table. Contract workers have also served a key role in helping employers overcome the skills gap.
But the gap is widening so quickly the federal government is looking to ignite interest in training via apprenticeship programs and potential tax credits for employers (though such credits were not in the major tax bill that passed this week).
U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta led the nation’s first apprenticeship taskforce meeting earlier this year. Their aim is to put business in the ‘driver’s seat’ of the creation and oversight of apprentice programming. DOL has taken somewhat seriously the challenge from Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff to create 5 million apprenticeship slots to upskill and train the American workforce (though Benioff, pointedly, is not on the apprenticeship taskforce).
In addition to looking for training opportunities, many companies are shifting the way they recruit in order to find talent that can do the work, but may not have the credentials once thought to be an arbiter of success. Skills-based hiring is poised to shift the marketplace, with many large players (including IBM) moving away from degree-only hiring practices.