Staffing Industry Indicator

Commercial hours outpace 2025 by 12%

IT hours have a strong showing, rising 1.8% this week

Light industrial hours reach the highest level of 2026, 15% ahead of 2025

Office/clerical hours improve this week, but remain well behind 2025

Staffing Industry Analysts’ perspective

US Staffing hours were up 10% compared to a year ago in the week ending July 25th, the strongest growth rate since June 2022, outside of holiday weeks. Commercial hours were up 12% y/y while Professional hours were up 8% y/y. On a skill segment level, Industrial occupation hours were up 15% y/y (its highest growth rate since August 2021, outside of holiday weeks), IT occupation hours were up 6% y/y, and Office/Clerical hours were down -5% y/y.

Looking at the first half of 2026, both Commercial and Professional staffing hours have displayed a positive sequential growth trend. This is consistent with data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics that shows employment in Temporary Help Services grew in five out of the first six months of this year for a gain of 47,800 such jobs.

Industrial staffing hours have shown impressive growth recently. Industrial staffing hours showed a notable ramp in late April and May, reaching double digit year-over-year growth. Then in June and so far in July, Industrial staffing hours appear to have ramped up even further. More insight on the industrial segment can be found in our recently published Industrial Staffing Growth Assessment report.

The average weekly hours worked per worker increased to 35.6 hours during the week ending July 25th. On average, Industrial occupations worked 36.7 hours per week while IT occupations averaged 37.5 hours.

We believe industrial staffing has benefitted this year from demand from clients in manufacturing and logistics, as well as demand related to investment in data centers. Demand for professional staffing has come from clients moving forward on projects that had previously been paused as well as from new projects related to AI readiness and transformation. According to the latest BLS estimates, US temporary help employment has grown an average of roughly 8,000 jobs each month from January through June, breaking the pattern of sequential declines that characterized the period from 2023 to 2025. 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 July 2026 US Jobs Report.