Need a Job? Skilled Professionals, Low-Wage Workers Needed to Temp

April 5, 2010— -- When the U.S. Department of Labor released its jobless report on Friday, the numbers showed that 162,000 jobs had been created.

About 40,000 of those jobs were temporary positions.

For the past six months, there's been a growth in the hiring of temp workers, said Tory Johnson, the CEO of Women for Hire and "Good Morning America's" workplace contributor.

Temp work is by no means limited to the outdated view of clerical assignments, added Johnson, who visited the show this morning.

Nowadays, temp work can run the range from low-level workers to highly skilled professionals. And people earn more per hour – about 15 percent more – in temp jobs than they do in traditional ones, Johnson said.

Johnson talked to several hiring firms, and she said the biggest demand is for lower-level workers, such as food handlers, call center staffers, and mailroom and assembly line workers. These are the kinds of jobs that tend to come back first in an economic recovery.

But staffing firms are seeing more demand for highly skilled workers, such as lawyers, accountants, scientists, business analysts, computer programmers and others who may fall into the technical and professional category, she noted.

There are two ways to go about getting a temp job. Job seekers can either go directly to an employer or approach a staffing firm.

The job seeker who approaches a staffing firm will have access to a much wider array of opportunities, she said, adding that everybody who is looking for work now should include temporary staffing firms as part of their strategy.

People should be aware that temp agencies -- just like human resources departments -- will have more applicants than job opportunities, so approach them carefully, Johnson said.

Tory's Tips:

Find reputable staffing firms. Don't register with just one.