The Top Growth Areas for Temp Jobs

For more on this EMSI release, see this Forbes article.

CHICAGO, March 7, 2013 – Want to get your foot in the door with a company? Forty percent of employers plan to hire temporary and contract workers in 2013, up from 36 percent last year. Many of these employers – 42 percent – plan to transition some temporary workers into full-time, permanent employees.

To help workers identify hot temp opportunities, Economic Modeling Specialists (EMSI) released a list of occupations that are hiring temporary workers at an accelerated rate. The study uses EMSI’s extensive labor market database, which pulls from over 90 national and state employment resources and includes detailed information on employees and self-employed workers.

Among the fastest-growing temporary jobs are:

Team Assemblers (help to assemble an entire product or part of a product¹)

• Number of people employed²: 128,096
• Jobs added from 2010 to 2012: 21,529 – 20 percent growth
• Median hourly wage: $13.25

Office Clerks (handle administrative tasks such as typing, filing, answering phones, etc)

• Number of people employed: 132,264
• Jobs added from 2010 to 2012: 21,219 – 19 percent growth
• Median hourly wage: $13.18

Customer Service Representatives (provide information to customers and respond to complaints)

• Number of people employed: 76,445
• Jobs added from 2010 to 2012: 12,334 – 19 percent growth
• Median hourly wage: $14.90

Human Resources, Training and Labor Relations Specialists (support various HR functions such as training, benefits, etc)

• Number of people employed: 59,597
• Jobs added from 2010 to 2012: 11,893 – 25 percent growth
• Median hourly wage: $26.44

Nursing Aides, Orderlies and Attendants (provide basic care to patients in hospitals and long-term care facilities)

• Number of people employed: 31,975
• Jobs added from 2010 to 2012: 5,155 – 19 percent growth
• Median hourly wage: $11.91

Home Health Aides (monitor health status and assist with routine care such as changing bandages, applying topical medications, bathing, etc)

• Number of people employed: 27,308
• Jobs added from 2010 to 2012: 4,786 – 21 percent growth
• Median hourly wage: $9.96

Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers (drive a tractor-trailer vehicle and may assist with unloading)

• Number of people employed: 22,701
• Jobs added from 2010 to 2012: 3,700 – 19 percent growth
• Median hourly wage: $17.96

Maintenance and Repair Workers (maintain and repair machines, equipment and buildings)

• Number of people employed: 24,238
• Jobs added from 2010 to 2012: 3,917 – 19 percent growth
• Median hourly wage: $16.94

Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers and Weighers (assess products for defects, wear and deviations from specifications)

• Number of people employed: 21,458
• Jobs added from 2010 to 2012: 3,414 – 19 percent growth
• Median hourly wage: $16.63

Business Operations Specialists (analyze and reengineer business processes to enhance product or service delivery and other functions)

• Number of people employed: 10,528
• Jobs added from 2010 to 2012: 1,677 – 19 percent growth
• Median hourly wage: $30.82

Electricians (install and maintain electrical systems in homes, businesses, etc)

• Number of people employed: 7,657
• Jobs added from 2010 to 2012: 1,245 – 19 percent growth
• Median hourly wage: $23.64

Sales Representatives, Wholesale & Manufacturing (sell goods for wholesalers and manufacturers to businesses, government groups and others)

• Number of people employed: 7,028
• Jobs added from 2010 to 2012: 1,143 – 19 percent growth
• Median hourly wage: $25.55

¹ Occupation definitions are based on information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

² Estimated number of people employed in the temporary help services industry in 2012.

About EMSI

Economic Modeling Specialists Intl. (EMSI) is a company that provides industry-leading employment data and economic analysis via web tools and custom reports. EMSI has produced more than 1,200 comprehensive impact analyses for colleges and universities in the US and internationally, and its web tools — Analyst and Career Coach — are used by thousands of professionals in higher education, workforce and economic development, and the private sector.