America's staffing companies employed an average of 2.96 million temporary and contract workers per day in 2006, an increase of 1.8% over the previous year, according to data released today by the American Staffing Association.

"Staffing firms added just over 50,000 jobs to the economy in 2006," says ASA president and CEO Richard Wahlquist. "However, while temporary and contract employment growth moderated last year to a pace on par with overall employment growth, our members continued to report increased and growing demand for permanent placement and temp-to-hire services."

Based on data from ASA quarterly surveys, the association estimates that America's staffing companies employed a total of 12.4 million temporary and contract workers during 2006, an increase of 300,000 over the previous year. Approximately 4.4 million of those employees secured permanent jobs.

"America's staffing companies help workers find permanent jobs and help businesses find qualified talent. And staffing firms offer work force flexibility for businesses and employment flexibility for employees who prefer flexible work arrangements," Wahlquist says.

U.S. annual sales for temporary and contract staffing totaled $72.3 billion in 2006, according to ASA survey data, surpassing the 2005 sales record by 4.1%.

The survey results show that average daily employment during the fourth quarter of 2006 totaled 3.07 million, down 1.5% from the same period in 2005. Temporary and contract staffing sales in the fourth quarter hit a new high of $18.6 billion, exceeding the previous year's fourth quarter record by 0.7%.

ASA represents the U.S. staffing industry. ASA members provide a wide range of employment-related services and solutions, including temporary and contract staffing, recruiting and permanent placement, outplacement and outsourcing, training, and human resources consulting. Member companies operate more than 15,000 offices across the nation and account for 85% of U.S. staffing industry revenues.

To view historical data from the ASA quarterly survey (1992 to present) or weekly measures of staffing employment, visit americanstaffing.net. Click on Staffing Statistics, then Staffing Employment and Sales Survey or Staffing Index, respectively.