Express Employment Professionals Reports Record Year for 2011; Sales Up 22 Percent Staffing Company Helped 335,000 People Find Jobs Last Year

announced today that 2011 temporary sales topped $2.1 billion, up 22 percent in a year, as employers continue to rely heavily on temporary staffing solutions amid an uncertain economy.

One of the nation’s largest private staffing companies, Express helped the most people in its 29-year history – more than 335,000 workers in the United States and Canada – find a job last year. Express associates worked an average of 2.4 million hours per week at more than 550 franchise locations in the U.S., Canada and South Africa, and they achieved a company milestone in October 2011 by working a combined 3 million hours in one week.

Staffing companies like Express have become a significant driver of the nation’s job growth. In the two years after the Great Recession ended in June 2009, U.S. staffing firms created more new jobs than any other industry, according to the American Staffing Association. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the temporary help services industry added nearly half a million workers and accounted for 91 percent of total nonfarm job growth from June 2009 to June 2011.

“In the coming year, we will maintain our focus on putting more people back to work and providing hope for job seekers,” said Karen Elfstrand, owner of the Hopkins Express office. “As consumer spending rises and business confidence improves, the jobs outlook will continue to brighten. We anticipate that the hiring outlook in all regions of North America will remain steady for administrative and commercial jobs.”

According to the results of an Express survey of 17,000 current and former clients, hiring trends for the first quarter of 2012 in all regions of the country are expected to be greatest in commercial and light industrial, with 30 percent of survey respondents planning new hires. Twenty-one percent of respondents anticipate adding administrative and office clerical staff.

The Hopkins Express Employment Professionals franchise began operation in 2007 and serves the Hopkins, Minnetonka and Saint Louis Park areas with temporary help and direct hire employees in a variety of fields, including administrative, entry level accounting and industrial.

Worldwide, Express Employment Professionals put 335,000 people to work in 2011 and has more than 550 offices in three countries. Express provides expertise in evaluation hire, temporary staffing, professional search and human resources and works across a wide variety of industries. Sales for the Oklahoma City-based franchise company totaled more than $2.1 billion in 2011.

The Hopkins office, located at 821 Mainstreet is currently accepting applications. For more information, call 952 933-1116 or visit www.expresspros.com.