This piece ran in the Washington Business Journal in the Nov. 25, 2017 edition. The graphic was prepared by the Washington Business Journal using data supplied by the Institute.
Between October 2016 and October 2017, the number of jobs in the Employment Service sub-sector decreased by 1,200 jobs in the Washington region. This sub-sector of the Professional & Business Service sector includes temporary/staffing services and has had monthly over-the-year decreases throughout 2017, the longest period of declines since the Recession. Prolonged job losses in this sub-sector can indicate either that businesses are hiring permanent employees at a higher rate or that businesses are preparing for a contraction. Despite the uneven job growth in 2017, the overall gains suggests that the decline in temporary employees is the result of a tightening labor force.
