Temporary and permanent hiring both rebound in June after May’s slowdown
May’s caution was a pause, not a retreat. June shows the staffing market regaining momentum with temporary and permanent orders both up. Improving fill rates and recruiter effort confirm the rebound is sustainable, signaling market strengthening and the emerging impact of AI productivity improvements.
Temporary hiring rebounds with real momentum
The narrative around temporary hiring shifted meaningfully in June. After declining for two straight months, temp job orders surged nearly 6% month over month, climbing to 8% above their June 2025 level. That year-over-year gain is significant, meaning the temporary staffing market has not just recovered lost ground but positioned itself higher than a year ago despite volatility.
Temporary fill rates jumped 4% during the month and finished 10% above 2025 levels, indicating employers are committing to temporary roles and candidates are being matched more efficiently.
What’s most revealing is that recruiters are placing more candidates without increasing their workload. This points to AI-assisted matching and screening tools delivering better candidate matches upfront, reducing time spent on screening and allowing recruiters to focus on what they do best: building relationships and making placements. Better tools are multiplying individual recruiter productivity.
Permanent hiring also strengthens on multiple fronts
Permanent job orders rose 6% in June compared to May, reaching 4% above their June 2025 level. This is a meaningful turnaround from May’s decline. Permanent fill rates rebounded to 11% above 2025 levels, showing that while the volume of permanent openings may be modest, employers are moving quickly to fill them when they do open roles. The market remains selective on headcount but decisive on execution.
Submissions have remained steady throughout the year, indicating recruiter pipelines held firm even during softer months. This matters because firms that maintained sourcing and relationship-building efforts through May’s uncertainty are now positioned to move faster than competitors who scaled back.
What June’s efficiency gains really signal
The most revealing data point this month is not the order volume increase but what’s happening with market efficiency metrics. Recruiters placing more candidates with steady effort aligns with observations about AI’s impact on recruiter productivity.
Firms that have invested in these tools and integrated them into workflows will feel the benefit of more placements much more than those still relying on manual processes.
Fill rates are running 10-11% above 2025 levels across both segments, reflecting a genuinely more efficient market than a year ago. That efficiency advantage isn’t going away.
Reading the shift from May to June
The caution that weighed on employer confidence in May, from inflation concerns to geopolitical uncertainty, didn’t translate into lasting demand destruction. It was a pause for reassessment.
Temp orders are climbing with improving fill rates. Perm orders are up. Recruiter effort is steady-to-declining. Year-over-year comparisons remain favorable.
For staffing leaders, now is the moment to act on efficiency gains your teams have made. The firms best positioned to benefit are those that have:
- Built AI-assisted sourcing and screening into workflows, reducing time from order to placement
- Maintained robust pipelines through quieter months for immediate response to new demand
- Focused on quality matching and client relationship management
- Invested in recruiter development and tools that amplify productivity
Check back with Bullhorn Insights at the start of every month for the latest hiring outlook and the insights you need to stay ahead of the market.
