Index Up 5.3% Compared With Same Week in 2025
ASA Staffing Index Monthly Report, April 2026
Staffing employment grew during the week of April 13–19, with the ASA Staffing Index increasing by 0.8% to a rounded value of 88. Staffing companies cited no one particular factor that hindered growth. Staffing jobs were 5.3% higher compared with the same period last year, up from 3.6% recorded the previous week.
New starts also increased in the 16th week of the year, up 2.2% from the prior week. Three in 10 staffing companies (30%) reported gains in new assignments week to week, below the average of 40% so far in 2026.
The ASA Staffing Index four-week moving average improved from the previous week to a rounded value of 88. Temporary and contract staffing employment for the four weeks ending April 19 was 4.9% higher than during the same period in 2025.
“Temporary and contract staffing employment has reached seven months of year-to-year growth,” said Noah Yosif, chief economist at ASA. “Employers are increasingly turning to short-term, flexible talent to fulfill their business needs in an uncertain economy.”
This week will be used in the April monthly employment situation report scheduled to be issued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on May 8.
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 and its state affiliates advance 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.