U.S. Jobs Numbers Reflect COVID-19 Crisis, IT Staffing Slow, but Consistent, Harley Lippman

The number of temporary jobs in the U.S. fell by 49,500 to 2.89 million in March while total employment fell by 701,000, according to seasonally adjusted numbers released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, the numbers reflect only the beginning stages of the COVID-19 crisis as the surveys on which the data is based closed in the middle of March as the fight against the virus ramped up.

The unemployment rate rose to 4.4% in March from 3.5% in February.

“Overall, while we are seeing a slowdown in March, the real impact will not hit until April or May, as corporate America reprioritizes its key initiatives,” said Harley Lippman, CEO at Genesis10 in a Staffing Industry Analysts Daily News story.

 “IT staffing is slow but consistent; employment decisions have been delayed with some operating under a hiring freeze until they can get their arms around the impact of COVID-19 on their business ecosystem,” he said.

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