Weekly Indicator Value Change
Indicator values for the US Staffing, Professional Staffing, and Commercial Staffing Indicators
Updated 2/7/23
The Professional Staffing indexed value was 135 for the week ending January 28th, following readings of 130 and 128 in the prior two weeks (ending Jan 21st and Jan 14th, respectively.)
The Commercial Staffing indexed value was 86 for the same week, following values of 83 and 80 in the prior two weeks.
The US Staffing indexed value, weighted to reflect the US staffing industry mix of professional and commercial jobs, was 101 for the week ending January 28th, following readings of 98 and 95 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 2/7/23
Temporary staffing hours worked for the week ending January 28th (“last week measured”) were down -4% compared to the corresponding week a year ago, according to the Indicator.
Temporary staffing hours completed in commercial occupations (industrial and office/clerical) were down -4% year-over-year.
Temporary staffing hours worked in professional occupations (IT, healthcare, finance, engineering, etc.) were down -4% year-over-year.
On a week-over-week sequential basis, temporary staffing hours worked were up 3.0%. Commercial temporary staffing hours were up 2.7% while professional temporary staffing hours were also up 4.1%.
Staffing Industry Analysts’ Perspective
Hours worked in the US staffing industry in the week ending January 28th decreased by -4% year-over-year. Commercial and Professional occupations contributed equally to the drop.
In the last week measured, hours worked in Commercial occupations were down -4% year-over-year. Over the past five weeks, hours worked in Commercial occupations fell by an average year-over-year growth rate of -5%. Over the year 2022, the average year-over-year growth rate for Commercial staffing hours was -1%.
Professional staffing hours were down -4% year-over-year. Over the past five weeks, hours worked in Professional occupations decreased by an average year-over-year growth rate of -3%. Over the year 2022, the average year-over-year growth rate for Professional staffing hours was 12%.
The year-over-year decline in staffing hours worked is roughly similar to the decline in temporary help employment as reported in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ February US Jobs Report (regarding mid January activity), indicating temporary employment was 0.4% lower than in January 2022. Such a pullback is not surprising given the record volume levels achieved in many segments of staffing in 2022, and in the face of current headwinds such as inflation, elevated interest rates, and general economic slowing.
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.