Temp jobs are a growth industry

While the U.S. recovers from the Great Recession, one aspect of the labor market that appears to have fundamentally changed is the number of Americans in temporary jobs.

Data from the American Staffing Association shows that staffing firms employed nearly 3.3 million temporary and contract workers each week during the third quarter of 2014, a rise of over six percent over the year-ago period.

A new report by CareerBuilder adds weight to those statistics, noting that temporary help services were some of the first industries to add jobs when the recession officially ended, growing 57 percent between 2009 and 2014.

Using data from over 90 national and state employment resources, the career services site projects that economy will add nearly 355,000 jobs over the next five years.

"Temporary employment will continue on an upward trajectory as companies look for ways to quickly adapt to market dynamics," Eric Gilpin, president of CareerBuilder's staffing & recruiting and health care divisions, said in a statement.

"Two in five U.S. employers expect to hire temporary or contract workers this year," he continued, "which opens new doors for workers who want to build relationships with different organizations and explore career options."

CareerBuilder also listed what it says will be the fastest-growing occupations, when it comes to temporary jobs, between now and 2019.

For jobs that pay less than $15 an hour, temp work for home health aides is expected to rise 15 percent during that time period, while the number of temporary positions for childcare workers, cooks, substitute teachers, product promoters and retail salespersons will increase by nearly the same amount.

In occupations that pay $15 or more per hour, temporary employment opportunities for computer systems analysts are expected to jump 19 percent between now and 2019. Temp jobs for accountants and auditors, management analysts, customer service representatives, big-rig truck drivers, and registered nurses are also expected to see significant growth.