Index Up 3.7% Compared to Same Week in 2025
ASA Staffing Index Monthly Report, July 2026
Staffing employment edged up during the week of July 13–19, with the ASA Staffing Index increasing by 0.6% to a rounded value of 90. Staffing jobs were 3.7% higher compared with the same period last year, down from 4.6% recorded the previous week.
New starts also increased during the 29th week of the year, up 3.2% from the prior week. Close to half of all staffing companies (46%) reported gains in new assignments week to week, slightly above the average of 41% so far in 2026.
The ASA Staffing Index four-week moving average decreased from the previous week to a rounded value of 89. Temporary and contract staffing employment for the four weeks ending July 19 was 5.2% higher than during the same period in 2025. Compared with the June monthly report, staffing employment grew by 0.6%.
“Industry employment has maintained a slow but steady pace growth throughout the year,” said Noah Yosif, chief economist at ASA. “Rising cost pressures and economic uncertainty continue to stifle further gains in temporary employment, as the year-to-year lead in the ASA Staffing Index has experienced some erosion over the past five weeks.”
This week will be used in the July monthly employment situation report scheduled to be issued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Aug. 7.
The ASA Staffing Index is reported nine days after each workweek, making it a near real-time measure of staffing employment trends. ASA Staffing Starts are the number of temporary and contract employees placed in new assignments during the reporting week. ASA research shows that staffing employment has historically been a coincident economic indicator.
For more information, visit americanstaffing.net/index.
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About the American Staffing Association (ASA)
The American Staffing Association is the voice of the U.S. staffing, recruiting, and workforce solutions industry. ASA advances the interests of the industry across all sectors through advocacy, research, education, and the promotion of high standards of legal, ethical, and professional practices. For more information about ASA, visit americanstaffing.net.