SIA Weekly Chart - March 2, 2024

US Staffing hours up slightly

US staffing hours increased 1% compared to last week, with increases in both commercial and professional hours compared to the preceding short holiday week.

*Indexed value of US staffing hours benchmarked against the week ending January 19, 2019.

US Staffing Indicator regain loss from holiday week

Commentary for the week ending March 2, 2024

  • The overall index value for the US staffing industry rose from 85 to 86, returning to where it was the week ending Feb. 17, 2024.
  • The professional staffing indexed value rose from 121 to 122 but remains well below the 128 level of mid-February.
  • The commercial staffing index rose slightly from 71 to 72 — it has been 71 or 72 throughout the month of February.
Indicator values for US Staffing, Professional Staffing, and Commercial Staffing

The graph is interactive.

Year-over-year gap narrows slightly

  • Overall, staffing hours are 12% below the same week last year and the same gap as the previous week.
  • Professional staffing remained down 10% YOY, the same gap as last week.
  • Commercial staffing hours are 12% below 2023 levels, the narrowest gap yet this year.
Year-over-year change in the US staffing, professional staffing, and commercial staffing weekly hours worked

The graph is interactive.

Staffing Industry Analysts' perspective

Hours worked in the US staffing industry in the week ending March 2nd decreased by -12% year-over-year. Commercial staffing hours were down -12% while Professional staffing hours were down -10%.

The week ending March 2nd was the first full week following the Washington’s Birthday/Presidents Day Holiday. The post-Holiday bounce-back appears to be limited. Whether the Indicator values pick-up again in the following weeks will be a good indication for the momentum in the second half of this first quarter.

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The US staffing industry is a large and dynamic market that continues to offer big opportunities

The year-over-year decline in the Indicator is directionally in line with the decline in temporary help employment as reported in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly Employment Situation reports. The March 2024 US Jobs Report (published on March 8th) estimates that employment in the temporary help services industry fell by -7% in February 2024, on a Y/Y basis; and declined -0.6% when compared to January 2024. The latest data, along with the SIA | Bullhorn Staffing Indicator, suggest continued weakness in the industry despite strength in the overall economy.

Competitive pressures remain elevated but there are continuing and large opportunities for those staffing firms that have developed a competitive advantage via either their technology, their service offerings, or both. For more discussion of the market dynamics for each skill segment of staffing, SIA Corporate Members are encouraged to read our latest US Staffing Industry Forecast report, published on September 12th.

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.