Commercial staffing hours show modest improvement every week since Spring Break
US staffing hours were up .1% compared to the previous week. Commercial hours improved .4% sequentially, the fourth straight week of slow but steady growth. Professional hours were down for a third week in a row.
**Indexed value of US staffing hours benchmarked against the week ending January 19, 2019.
Staffing Industry Analysts' perspective
Hours worked in the US staffing industry in the week ending May 24th decreased by -3% year-over-year. C
The year-over-year gap for Commercial staffing is narrowing further. On the other hand, Professional Staffing’s year-over-year gap remains in high single-digit territory.
The US staffing industry is a large and dynamic market that continues to offer big opportunities
Taken all together, the data suggest that the US Government’s trade policy and related economic uncertainty has, so far, had a limited impact on demand for staffing services. The Indicator hints that some areas of the Commercial Staffing segment are still seeing steady demand, possibly fueled by clients attempting to stock inventories ahead of new tariffs and during pauses in the implementation of new tariffs.
There are clear indications that, as suggested by the May 2025 US Jobs Report (published on May 2nd), the US labor market is
gradually cooling. On the other hand, some staffing segments may be currently benefiting from clients rushing projects ahead of the announced tariff hikes. In the medium term, staffing companies will be playing an important role in providing their clients with a flexible workforce that they will need to navigate the current dynamic environment.
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.
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