Staffing hours bounce back after Thanksgiving
Staffing hours in all sectors rose substantially as workers returned from the Thanksgiving holiday. The rebound was in line with last year’s trends and normal for the season. U.S. staffing hours were up 11.4%, commercial hours were up 10.9%, and professional hours were up 14.8%.
**Indexed value of US staffing hours benchmarked against the week ending January 19, 2019.
Staffing Industry Analysts' perspective
The Professional Staffing indexed value was 102 for the week ending December 6th, following readings of 89 and 110 in the prior two weeks (ending Nov 29th and Nov 22nd, respectively.)
The Commercial Staffing indexed value was 66 for the same week, following values of 60 and 71 in the prior two weeks.
The US Staffing indexed value, weighted to reflect the US staffing industry mix of professional and commercial jobs, was 77 for the week ending December 6th, following readings of 69 and 82 in the prior two weeks, as shown in the interactive chart above.
The US staffing industry is a large and dynamic market that continues to offer big opportunities
US Staffing hours were -4% down compared to the same week a year ago, remaining consistent with the year-over-year changes observed in the weeks ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
On a sequential, week-over-week basis, hours increased in the first full week following Thanksgiving. During the weeks leading to the holiday, hours were edging up in the tail end of the seasonal ramp that is typically capped between Labor Day and Thanksgiving. Both Commercial hours and Professional hours had reached new Year-To-Date peak levels.
The outlook for temporary staffing remains clouded by factors such as slowing growth in the overall US labor market, high interest rates, policy uncertainty, and uncertainty regarding the impact of AI, leading to a continued cautious approach to hiring from clients.
Nevertheless, we highlight that elevated levels of uncertainty for staffing clients means a stronger value proposition for the use of a flexible or contingent workforce to help navigate fluctuations in business activity. For more insights, please see our US Economic and Labor Market Trends (November 2025), our November US Jobs Report Briefing and our most recent US Staffing Industry Forecast Update.
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.
