Temporary Job Growth Expected To Outpace Permanent Job Growth Over Last Six Months Of 2013

Job seekers in the U.S. can expect to find more opportunities in temporary work than they can hope for in permanent positions.

CareerBuilder, LLC's Midyear Job Forecast predicts that hiring for permanent full-time workers over the second half of 2013 will remain stagnant and exactly match the same period in 2012, remaining at 44 percent.

Meanwhile, hiring activity will be much more active for temporary and contract workers, according to more than 2,000 hiring managers and human resource professionals polled across numerous industries and company sizes. Employers say that temp hiring will increase 10 percentage points above last year's level from 21 percent to 31 percent. The survey was conducted online from May 14 to June 5 by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.

A separate study conducted by Economic Modeling Specialists, a company CareerBuilder started to conduct jobs research, found that 40 percent of new jobs in large labor markets such as Chicago, Philadelphia, Kansas City, Cincinnati and Milwaukee can be attributed to temporary work.

The Harris survey found that part-time work will also increase by 4 percentage points from 21 percent to 25 percent over the same period.

"Companies are adding more employees to keep pace with demand for their products and services," said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder. "But they're not rushing into a full-scale expansion of headcount in light of economic headwinds that still linger today."

Ferguson said the surge in temporary hiring that will occur during July and December means confidence is growing in the job market, yet there remains a hesitation to place permanent hires on the books this soon after the recession. However, the numbers leave some room for optimism.

"The overall pace of permanent hiring is stronger today in various industries and geographies," said Ferguson, "and will continue on a path of gradual improvement for the remainder of the year."