Staffing hours rebound across all segments post-Memorial Day

In the first full week after Memorial Day, staffing hours rebounded across all segments, recovering from the holiday driven dip. Professional staffing led the way, up 4.1% week over week. While all segments remain above 2025 levels, the gap is narrowing sharply. IT staffing posted the strongest rebound, jumping 6.2% on the week and holding 2% above last year. Light industrial hours eased to 7% above 2025, down from two straight weeks at 10%, though it remains the strongest segment year over year. Office/clerical lost more ground, slipping to -12% below 2025 levels.

SIA | Bullhorn research

Staffing hours rebound across all segments after Memorial Day

IT hours hold 2% ahead of 2025

Light industrial hours ease to 7% ahead of 2025

Office/clerical hit new YTD low, down 12%

Staffing Industry Analysts’ perspective

US Staffing hours were up 2% compared to a year ago. Commercial hours were up 3% y/y while Professional hours were up 2% y/y. This week’s data is marked by a deceleration in Commercial staffing y/y growth, which directly impacts US Staffing y/y trends.

Looking at a skill segment level, Industrial occupation hours were up 7% y/y, IT occupation hours were up 2% y/y, while Office/Clerical hours were down -12% y/y. While IT and Office/Clerical staffing hours showed a decent bounce back from the prior week that included the Memorial Day holiday, Industrial staffing hours exhibited only a slight bounce back. We will be looking to next week’s data release for more insight on whether this was merely a one-time dip in the first week of June, or whether this signals a more meaningful slowdown in the strong momentum that Industrial staffing volumes have maintained so far this year.

Prior to the Memorial Day holiday week, the positive sequential growth trends so far this year were consistent with data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’s June 2026 US Jobs Report that showed five straight months of growth in Temporary Help Services employment.

Average weekly hours worked per worker improved to 34.8 hours in the first full week following the Memorial Day holiday. On average, Industrial temp workers reported 36.4 hours in the latest week and IT workers performed 36.7 hours.

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.

We believe industrial staffing is benefiting from growth in demand from clients in manufacturing and logistics, as well as demand related to investment in data centers. Demand for professional staffing is also rising as clients move forward on projects that had previously been paused as well as launch new projects related to AI readiness and transformation. According to the latest BLS estimates, US temporary help employment grew sequentially in each month from January through May, 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 (May 2026), and our June 2026 US Jobs 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 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 staffing firms, it does represent a sizable sample of the 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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