Temporary jobs on the rise

It's no secret companies are scaling back employees and freezing wages even as the unemployment rate continues to climb. Many people are overcoming those odds with the help of staffing services.

Some staffing services admit it's been a difficult year, but now things seem to be changing. Since companies need employees, but may not be able to make a long-term investment, many are turning to staffing agencies to find temporary help.
 
These days, thousands of Arkansans are looking for work.

"The jobs are not as easy to find," said job-seeker Lourdes Woodruff.

She turned to a Premier Staffing. Premier offers a computerized test to help job seekers determine their skills before matching them with the right company. "[Like] how to maneuver an Excel spreadsheet and Microsoft Word,” Woodruff explained while typing.

"We've got good contacts out there. We work with a lot of different companies to find them good people,” said Dwight Seagraves of Premier.

He says companies are turning to his agency looking for good help.  "Companies will tend to hire on a temporary basis now when they are still a little bit jittery about long term implications,” Seagraves added.

In some cases that temporary job turns into a permanent offer.

Seagraves says it's gotten to the point that job seekers have become less picky about what type of job they get as long as the company is taking applications. "People generally, want a job. We don't see near the number of people turning down jobs because maybe the pay isn't what they wanted," he said.

In such a tight and competitive economy, Woodruff hopes to beat out the competition. "I am very confident as far as landing the job,” she said.

Experts say if a job seeker finds a job that may not have been their first option, remember it's important to get in the door. Seagraves says he reminds job seekers, it's not where you start, but where you end up.

In October, there were 34,000 additional temporary jobs nationwide.