Weekly Indicator Value Change
Indicator values for the US Staffing, Professional Staffing, and Commercial Staffing Indicators
Updated 5/13/22
The Professional Staffing indexed value was 141 last week, following readings of 142 and 139 in the prior two weeks (ending April 30th and April 23rd, respectively.)
The Commercial Staffing indexed value was 94 last week, following values of 91 and 91 in the prior two weeks.
The US Staffing indexed value, weighted to reflect the US staffing industry mix of professional and commercial jobs, was 109 last week, following readings of 106 and 106 in the prior two weeks, as shown in the graph below.
Year-over-year change in the US Staffing, Professional Staffing, and Commercial Staffing Weekly Hours Worked
Updated 5/13/22
Temporary staffing hours worked last week (the week ending May 7th) were up 7% compared to the corresponding week a year ago, according to the Indicator.
Temporary staffing hours worked in professional occupations (IT, healthcare, finance, engineering, etc.) were up 15% year-over-year.
Temporary staffing hours completed in commercial occupations (industrial and office/clerical) were up 5% year-over-year.
On a week-over-week sequential basis, temporary staffing hours worked were up 2.3%. Commercial temporary staffing hours were up 3.7% while professional temporary staffing hours were down -1.0%.
Staffing Industry Analysts’ Perspective
Hours worked in the US staffing industry last week were up 7% year-over-year, rising moderately in the first week of May 2022.
On a week-over-week sequential basis, staffing hours worked increased by 2.3%, confirming the post-Spring Holiday bounce back that we hinted at last week.
Commercial staffing hours were up 5% compared to a year ago. In addition, Commercial staffing hours were up 28% compared to the same week in 2020, during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Professional staffing hours were up 15% compared to a year ago, and up 57% compared to the same week two years ago (in 2020.)
In the near term, the US economy faces headwinds in the form of rising inflation, rising interest rates, supply chain disruptions, and sanctions and disruptions arising from the war in Ukraine.
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 ended the prior Saturday. 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. Additionally, this release includes a periodic revision to historical indicator data to account for adjustments in prior source data sets. For further information on how the Indicator has been created and detailed technical notes please refer to the methodology.