. >> reporter: in south florida, joan cifferi, president of david wood personnel, has also noticed the slowdown. she says many clients could hire but won't. >> even if they have open positions, they just seem to be waiting. one reason is they are getting more with less out of their own employees, and i think they are waiting to see what's happening in the economy-- in the government. >> reporter: temporary hiring is considered one of the best leading indicators of job growth. that's because at the early stages of an economic recovery, companies often hire temps before committing to permanent positions. many economists are hopeful there will be a pick-up in temporary hiring-- including drew matus. >> if you are trending higher on job growth, you should be seeing moderate-- what i would call moderate-- temporary hiring, something in the 10,000 to 20,000 range. that would be normal. >> reporter: better yet, he's confident many of those temp hires will eventually be made permanent staffers. sarah quick is also optimistic. >> i'm temping at a law firm right now, and my three-month trial per

. >> reporter: in south florida, joan cifferi, president of david wood personnel, has also noticed the slowdown. she says many clients could hire but won't. >> even if they have open positions, they just seem to be waiting. one reason is they are getting more with less out of their own employees, and i think they are waiting to see what's happening in the economy-- in the government. >> reporter: temporary hiring is considered one of the best leading indicators of job growth. that's because at the early stages of an economic recovery, companies often hire temps before committing to permanent positions. many economists are hopeful there will be a pick-up in temporary hiring-- including drew matus. >> if you are trending higher on job growth, you should be seeing moderate-- what i would call moderate-- temporary hiring, something in the 10,000 to 20,000 range. that would be normal. >> reporter: better yet, he's confident many of those temp hires will eventually be made permanent staffers. sarah quick is also optimistic. >> i'm temping at a law firm right now, and my three-month trial per