Temporary job hiring is on the rise, which has some assuming that job recovery is on the way. However, data is showing that the unemployment problem is not likely to improve anytime soon.
Jobs in the temporary services industry are up 22.1% year-over-year, according to the Labor Department. But the overall job market expanded only 0.2% during the same period. And the outlook is still pretty grim.
"By this stage, we would have expected to see businesses add on larger numbers of permanent workers," said Richard Wahlquist, president and CEO of the American Staffing Association.
The problem is that businesses are still too scared to hire. Mixed economic data, sweeping new financial and health care reforms and uncertainty about the expiring Bush tax cuts, have all left employers feeling jittery about their future business prospects, Wahlquist said.