Steady Growth Expected for Post Election Job Creation - Kelly Services Advance Comment on Unemployment Rate Announcement
TROY, Mich., Nov. 4 -- The following commentary by Carl Camden, president and chief operating officer of global staffing company Kelly Services, Inc., is offered in advance of the October unemployment rate announcement due Friday from the U.S. Department of Labor. In September, the economy gained a reported 96,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate remained at 5.4 percent.
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"With Election Day behind us we are looking forward to the jobs numbers being less political than they have been in previous months leading up to the presidential election. We have recently seen some encouraging signs with the unemployment rate holding steady for August and September -- the lowest levels in nearly two years -- but the true indicator will be in the months ahead. The trend in job creation over several months provides a more meaningful gauge on the direction of employment than any single month's data.
"Staffing companies are often seen as key barometers of the health of the economy and we are optimistic the job figures will continue in a positive direction. The impending holidays are resulting in normal seasonal demand at this point and we believe we are in the midst of a healthy recovery that should have a fairly long life. Job creation remains on a path of solid growth and the trend shows ongoing stability for the employment picture overall. An average of 170,000 jobs have been added each month. At that rate, we should see over two million jobs created by year's end."
About Kelly Services
Kelly Services, Inc. (Nasdaq: KELYA, KELYB) is a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Troy, Mich., offering staffing solutions that include temporary staffing services, staff leasing, outsourcing, vendor on-site and full-time placement. Kelly serves 200,000 customers through 2,500 company owned and operated offices in 26 countries. Kelly provides employment for nearly 700,000 employees annually, with skills including office services, accounting, engineering, information technology, law, science, marketing, light industrial, education, health care and home care. Revenue in 2003 was $4.3 billion. Visit http://www.kellyservices.com .
SOURCE Kelly Services, Inc.
CONTACT: Deana Patritto of Kelly Services, +1-248-244-5477
Web site: http://www.kellyservices.com
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