Staffing Indicator Week ending Feb 01, 2025

US Staffing hours rebound after MLK holiday

US staffing hours were up 4.4% compared to the previous week for the first full week after the MLK holiday. Similarly, commercial staffing hours were up 4.2% and professional hours were up 5.3%.

**Indexed value of US staffing hours benchmarked against the week ending January 19, 2019.

US staffing index bounces back, still below pre-holiday levels

Commentary for the week ending February 1, 2025

  • The overall index value for the US staffing industry was 75, up from 72 last week, but still below the 82 it was going into the holiday season.
  • The commercial staffing index rose from 61 to 64 — it had been 72 going into the holidays, near its 2024 high of 73.
  • The professional staffing index rose from 102 to 107, approaching the 110 level from mid-December.
  • These numbers reflect a fairly typical seasonal pattern from recent years.
Indicator values for US Staffing, Professional Staffing, and Commercial Staffing

The graph is interactive.

Staffing hours still down year over year

  • US staffing hours are 7% below the same week in 2024.
  • Commercial staffing hours are 5% below 2024, the smallest gap since October 2024.
  • Professional staffing hours are 11% below 2024.
Year-over-year change in the US staffing, professional staffing, and commercial staffing weekly hours worked

The graph is interactive.

Staffing Industry Analysts' perspective

Hours worked in the US staffing industry in the week ending February 1st decreased by -7% year-over-year. Commercial staffing hours were down -5% while Professional staffing hours were down -11%.

Two men looking at an open laptop

The US staffing industry is a large and dynamic market that continues to offer big opportunities

The volume of hours remains below last year’s levels. The year-over-year decline in the Indicator is directionally in line with the decline in temporary help employment as reported in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly Employment Situation reports. The February 2025 US Jobs Report (published on February 7th) estimates that employment in the temporary help services industry declined by -6.1% in January 2025, on a Y/Y basis; and fell -0.5% when compared with December 2024.

With the US economy continuing to show a GDP growth rate of more than 2%, we are keeping our eyes open for signs of an eventual uptick in demand for temporary staffing.

Competitive pressures remain elevated but there are continuing and large opportunities for those staffing firms that have developed a competitive advantage via either their technology, their service offerings, or both. For more discussion of the market dynamics for each skill segment of staffing, SIA Corporate Members are encouraged to read our latest US Staffing Industry Forecast report, published on September 10th. To read more about the current staffing environment, please see SIA’s Insights on the Recent Downturn in US Temporary Staffing 2024 report.

About the SIA Bullhorn Staffing Industry Indicator

The SIA | Bullhorn Staffing Indicator is a unique tool for gauging near real time weekly trends in the volume of temporary staffing delivered by US staffing firms. Each week the Indicator reports data for the week that ended ten days prior to the release. It reflects weekly hours worked by temporary workers across a sample of staffing companies in the US that utilize Bullhorn’s technology solutions. The Indicator is weighted and benchmarked against US Bureau of Labor Statistics data to approximate the composition of the staffing industry by skill. While the indicator does not presume to perfectly reflect the entire universe of US staffing firms, it does represent a sizable sample of the US staffing industry, reflecting a wide range of occupations, client industry verticals, and geographic footprint that spans the country.

The Indicator can be used by staffing firms to benchmark their past and current performance, as well as a tool for forecasting near term industry trends and outlook.

As the US temporary staffing industry has often functioned as a co-incident indicator for the US labor market and economy, the SIA | Bullhorn Staffing Indicator is also useful for a broader audience of business leaders and investors who are seeking real-time insight.

The Indicator is a joint custom research effort between Bullhorn and industry advisor Staffing Industry Analysts.

Revisions and Technical notes on the SIA | Bullhorn Staffing Indicator 

We note the readings for the last 4 weeks are subject to revision and so should be viewed as preliminary, with the reading for the last recorded week the most likely to be revised in next week’s data release. For further information on how the Indicator has been created and detailed technical notes please refer to the methodology.

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SIA | Bullhorn Staffing Indicator