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Temporary-Help Jobs in 2026 Versus 2025: What U.S. Staffing Payrolls Signal · Can't Find Job? AI Is Quietly Replacing Millions of Workers

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Temporary help jobs in 2026 versus 2025, what U.S.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: staffing payrolls signal by Ifyak Namdi, human potential advocate.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: A rise in temporary help payrolls can look like an early sign that employers are ready to hire again.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: In the September 4th, 2026 Jobs Report, temporary help services added about 6,800 jobs in August.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: The series also stood about 36,200 jobs above August 2025.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: But there is an important update.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: BLS later revised August monthly gain down to just 200 jobs.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: The year-over-year increase shrank too.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: The first report pointed to a small staffing rebound.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: The latest figures make that signal much weaker.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: What the August figure showed at first, the September 4th report counted 2.5195 million seasonally adjusted jobs in temporary help services in August 2026, up from 2.5127 million in July.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: That is a gain of 6,800.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: August 2025 stood at 2.4833 million, so the first report showed a year-over-year rise of 36,200, or about 1.5%.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: For the full table, please open this article on can'tfindjob.com.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: A gain of 6,800 is small beside a workforce of about 2.5 million.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: It is roughly 0.3% of that payroll total.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: It is a reason to watch the series, not proof that employers have begun a broad hiring wave.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: The next report changed the story.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Payroll estimates are revised as BLS receives more reports and updates seasonal factors.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: In its October 2, 2026 report, BLS put August temporary help employment at 2.4977 million and July at 2.4975 million.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: That leaves an August rise of just 200 jobs, not 6800.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: The latest August level was about 14,400 jobs or 0.6% above August 2025.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: September then fell by 10,900 to 2.4868 million.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: This is not a reason to dismiss the first report.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: It is a reason to read it as an early estimate, not a final verdict.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: BLS routinely revises the latest months when new data arrive.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: In this case, the revision erased nearly all of the August increase that first caught the eye.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: What a temporary help payroll counts.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: Temporary help payrolls count jobs at businesses classified as temporary help services, staffing agencies that supply workers to clients.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: They do not count every vacancy at a client company, and they are not an exact count of unique people working temporary assignments.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: BLS payroll data count jobs.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: A person with jobs at more than one establishment can be counted more than once.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: The employer of record rule matters.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: A worker may spend the day at a client's office or factory, while the staffing agency is the employer shown in the payroll data.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: BLS says temporary agency employees are counted under their employer of record, not at the location where they do the work.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: That means a rise in agency payrolls can show more workers being supplied by staffing firms.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: It does not, by itself, show that client companies added permanent employees.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: Compare temporary help with professional services payrolls.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: A useful comparison is professional, scientific, and technical services, an industry that includes areas such as engineering, consulting, research, and computer systems design.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: The September 4 report showed 10.8423 million payroll jobs in that industry in August 2026, compared with 10.7657 million in August 2025.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: That was a gain of 76,600, or about 0.7%.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: The latest revised data put the August 2026 level at 10.8372 million, still about 71,500, or 0.7%, above August 2025.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: That is modest growth in a large industry.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: It is not a clean count of permanent jobs though.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: BLS payroll data sort jobs by the employer's industry, not by whether each job is permanent, short-term, or seasonal.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: So professional and technical payrolls are a useful direct employer comparison, but not a perfect permanent jobs measure.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: The change in the comparison is telling, in the first report, temporary help payrolls brew faster over the year than professional, scientific, and technical payrolls.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: About 1.5% versus 0.7%.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: After revision, temporary help was up about 0.6%, while professional and technical services remained up about 0.7%.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: The apparent staffing lead disappeared.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: Do openings and hires confirm wider hiring?
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: The August Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, Jolts, offers a second test.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: In professional and business services, reported job openings were 1.186 million in August 2026.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: That was above 1.095 million a year earlier, but below 1.305 million in July.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: Hires were 935,000 in August, up from July's 899,000, but below the 1.037 million reported for August 2025.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: For the full table, please open this article on can'tfindjob.com.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: This is a mixed signal.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: Openings were higher than a year earlier, which suggests employers were seeking more workers at month's end, but hires were lower than a year earlier.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: And August openings fell sharply from July.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: Joltz also measures something different from temporary help payrolls.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Its openings count covers positions an employer is actively trying to fill.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: BLS excludes positions that will be filled by employees of temporary help agencies, contractors, or similar firms.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: Joltz hires also exclude those agency employees, so the Joltz figures help test direct employer hiring, but they do not count the same jobs as staffing agency payrolls.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: The national picture was not a clear hiring surge either.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: Total U.S.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: openings fell from 7.335 million in July to 7.079 million in August, while total hires changed little at about 5.2 million.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: What workers and staffing clients should take from this for temporary workers.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: The first August report offered a small sign of stronger agency demand.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: The later revision shows why one month should not drive a career decision.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: A better signal would be several months of rising agency payrolls, more repeat assignments, and stronger direct hiring.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: Use each assignment to build proof of what you can do.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: Keep track of results.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: Strengthen skills that travel between employers, including clear communication, sound judgment, problem solving, and the ability to use AI tools well.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: Those skills matter whether a role is temporary, permanent, or project-based.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: For staffing clients, agency payroll gains can signal a need for flexible labor.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: They do not tell you whether that need will last or turn into direct hires.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: Watch the work itself, repeat requests, hours, assignment length, conversions to company payrolls, and direct hire openings and hires.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: In an AI-driven economy, temporary work may help companies fill short projects or handle demand spikes, while they decide which roles to build for the long term.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: That is a reasonable way to think about staffing, not a fact proved by these payroll numbers.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: The data do not tell us whether AI caused the August change.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: Conclusion: The September 4 report showed temporary help payrolls at 2.520 million, up about 7,000 in August, and 36,200 from a year earlier.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: But BLS's October 2nd update revised the monthly gain to about 200 and the year-over-year increase to about 14,400.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: September payrolls then fell.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: Professional and technical payrolls grew modestly over the year.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: Jolts showed more openings than a year earlier, but fewer hires.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: Put together, the numbers show some demand for staffing and some growth in professional services, not firm proof that temporary gains are spreading into wider direct hiring.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: For workers and employers alike, the smart move is to watch the next several months, not bet on one first estimate.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: All links to sources are available in the text version of this article.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: You can find the full article at can'ffindjob.com slash blog.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening.
• 9:07
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• 9:14
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