USA Today: signs of an improving economy emerge despite pullback in hiring.

Uncertainty about the post-pandemic economy continues to impact the employment landscape. Companies that are hiring are looking to temporary workers to fill emerging needs. Analysts say this is a positive trend that forecasts more hiring in the months ahead.

That’s because temporary employees are a bellwether of the job market. They are often the first to be let go in bad times, and the first to return during a recovery. About one million temporary staffing jobs were lost in March and April of 2020, with 76% of those jobs coming back by January 2021. Some of these jobs are holiday hires that were retained into the new year, others are temporary COVID-19 related roles in contact tracing and more.

Businesses continue to rely on temporary workers as they wait to see how the vaccine rollout plays out.

“We’re seeing organizations finding it incredibly difficult to workforce plan in the current environment,” says Michael Smith, global CEO for Randstad Sourceright. Companies that are ready for permanent hires can’t find them.

Read more about prevailing trends as the economy enters its second year of COVID-19 disruption in USA Today. You can also visit Randstad Sourceright’s talent continuity & COVID-19 Insights stream to learn how you can build a talent strategy that will help your company thrive despite continued uncertainty.