Staffing Industry Indicator

US staffing hours match year-to-date high

IT hours gain ground compared to 2025

Light industrial hours 10% above 2025

Office/clerical hours hold steady

Staffing Industry Analysts’ perspective

US Staffing hours were roughly tied with their highest levels so far this year, and up 5% compared to the year ago trend. Y/Y trends also improved for Commercial hours (7%) and Professional hours (2%). Furthermore, Industrial and IT staffing reported the strongest Y/Y growth rates, up 10% and 3%, respectively.

Looking at conditions a year ago, we note that staffing hours declined in the second half of April 2025 in part due to uncertainty created by the rollout of tariffs on April 2, 2025. This pullback in hours a year ago creates an easier base of comparison and contributes to the increased year-over-year growth in staffing hours in the latest week measured.

The latest week levels reflect a bounce back to the levels observed in the weeks leading up to Easter. For perspective, the most recent prior period of sustained Y/Y growth was in September 2022, roughly three and a half years ago.

Up until the Easter weekend, US Staffing hours have been standing at or improving on their highest level year-to-date since early March. Growth is being driven by Industrial occupations and IT occupations, with hours up 10% and 3%, respectively, compared to year ago trends. In contrast, staffing in Office/Clerical occupations was down 5%.

Average weekly hours worked per worker increased sequentially to 35.4 hours. On average, Industrial temp workers clocked in 36.5 hours in the latest week and IT workers performed 37.8 hours.

We note that the conflict in Iran has yet to show a meaningful direct negative impact on the US staffing industry, at least as far as we can tell. We will continue to keep an eye out for any impacts in future weeks of data.

Looking ahead, US temporary staffing continues to face headwinds in the form of sluggish growth in the overall US labor force, low rates of labor turnover, policy uncertainty, and uncertainty regarding the impact of AI, leading to a cautious approach to hiring from clients.

Nevertheless, on the bright side, according to the latest BLS estimates, US temporary help employment grew sequentially in November, January, and March, breaking the pattern of sequential declines that have defined much of the past three years. For more US staffing industry insights, please see our US Staffing Industry Forecast: March 2026 Update, our US Economic and Labor Market Trends (March 2026), and our April 2026 US Jobs Report.