Latest report shows worrying decline in temp jobs

The World

The Labor Department’s jobs report for July, released last Friday, showed overall unemployment stayed the same at 9.5 percent, but that the economy lost 5,600 temporary jobs. This ended nine months of gradual increases. Concerned economists say temporary jobs can be seen as a leading economic indicator of how businesses will proceed in the hiring of permanent workers.

With the help of Peter Morici, economist and business professor at the University of Maryland, and Mark Dixon, placement coordinator for Good Temps in New York, a division of Goodwill Industries, we look at how this recent decrease in temporary jobs can help us look ahead to how permanent jobs will look in the near future.

Are you with The World?

The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.

When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.