While the October jobs report is a step backwards, it’s important to remember that economists predicted this pattern – slow and unsteady recovery. The overall numbers this month seem daunting as they were unexpected as compared to economists’ predictions prior to the release. Keep in mind that the temporary job loss number is important in this recession. Having been through a particularly hard downturn, the private sector will be reluctant to start adding permanent staffers even when the economy shows signs of recovery. On the other hand, this month only 1,700 temporary jobs were lost. We expect temporary jobs to be added in October.

In our business, we are seeing a consistent theme among our clients: they indicate they had to shed far more jobs than expected and wish to avoid this in the future. Thus, they will look at hiring temporary and contract workers more than before. Employers will take a more flexible approach to hiring long after a recovery is sustained. It’s crucial for candidates who are unemployed to keep their skills fresh and continue to diversify for their capacity in order to adapt to the flexible workforce model of the future.