The U.S. job market expanded in 2013 and the segment of the U.S. labor market comprised of temporary and contingent workers was a major contributing factor. The IQNdex 2013 Retrospective report, released today, analyzes full year trends for 2013, providing insights about the fast-growing segment of the U.S. labor force made up of non-permanent workers.

Key findings in the U.S. IQNdex 2013 Retrospective report include:

• In 2013, temporary agency employment set new record highs, up 9.6 percent over 2012, but overall contingent labor bill rates increased less than 1 percent for the year.
• Temporary agency roles contributed 11 percent of all new jobs, and reflect the evolution of how businesses are meeting their labor needs.
• Continued demand, tightening labor supply and a slowly improving economic climate suggest bill rates will rise in 2014.

"It was a labor buyer's market in 2013, with temp bill rates remaining largely unchanged. Looking ahead, however, our analysis predicts that contingent labor bill rates will experience upward pressure in the latter half of 2014, starting with roles that require greater education or specialized technical skills," said Gary Pollard, VP, Information Products at IQNavigator. "This will be due, in part, to a continued increase in demand coupled with an expected tightening supply of workers – thanks to a declining workforce participation rate, an increase in college enrollment for people over 25 years old and an overall aging U.S. population — a combination that will rapidly reduce the surplus of available workers."

Key insights by job sector from the U.S. IQNdex 2013 Retrospective report include:

• Reflecting increased business investment, the Technical-IT job sector continued to see the most consistent upward rate pressure, rising 21 of the past 24 months.
• Selected jobs within the Light Industrial sector experienced significant fluctuations in 2013, rising or falling 15 percent, with the net change across the sector up 3.3 percent, or less than one dollar per hour.
• Office-Clerical bill rates were flat throughout most of the country in 2013, however, lower rates for assignments in the Northeast resulted in a 0.7 percent decline across the sector. 
• Professional-Managerial rates declined 3.2 percent, continuing a trend toward lower cost roles within the mix of jobs in this diverse job sector, with some titles experiencing a decline in rates upward of 13 percent.

The U.S. IQNdex 2013 Retrospective has in-depth details about the findings outlined above as well as other observations related to geographic areas of the United States and specific metro markets. Read the full report for free at www.iqnavigator.com/iqndex.