Ten per cent of American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) members expect to add new staff to their ranks next year, whilst a further 20 per cent of agencies expect to engage with more independent contractors (ICs), a study has found.

The results of the ASTA Labor & Compensation survey show that whilst the majority of agents did not anticipate changes to the their rosters for outside sales, many were considering boosting internal staffing levels.

“These results show that employment within the industry is holding steady and in some cases, showing moderate gains,” ASTA chief executive Tony Gonchar commented.

“In a time of economic uncertainty, even modest growth is a positive for an industry dependent on consumer confidence.”

Talking to future benefit and compensation levels, around a third of ASTA members said higher employee salaries were on the cards for 2012, a projection Mr Gonchar said, showed the market for travel agents was “heading in the right direction”.

In related news, California Governor Jerry Brown has enacted a law prohibiting businesses from “willfully misclassifying” individuals as independent contractors.