Staffing Industry Statistics

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The staffing, recruiting, and workforce solutions industry makes a vital contribution to the U.S. economy while servicing businesses across virtually all industries. Staffing provided job and career opportunities for about 16 million employees per year pre-pandemic (13.6 million during the pandemic).

Nearly three million temporary and contract employees work for America’s staffing companies during an average week.

During the course of a year, America’s staffing companies hire over 14.5 million temporary and contract employees.

  • Most staffing employees (73%) work full time, comparable to the overall workforce (75%).
  • Six in 10 staffing employees (64%) work in the industry to fill in the gap between jobs or to help them land a job.
  • One in five (20%) cite schedule flexibility as a reason for choosing temporary/contract work.
Why Staffing 2018

Staffing employees work in virtually all occupations in all sectors:

  • 36% Industrial
  • 24% Office–Clerical and Administrative
  • 21% Professional–Managerial
  • 11% Engineering, Information Technology, and Scientific
  • 8% Health Care

40% of staffing employees work in higher-skilled occupations.

40% of staffing employees work in higher-skilled occupations.

Staffing clients turn to staffing companies to achieve workforce flexibility and access to talent.

In 2021, there are around 27,000 staffing and recruiting companies in the U.S., which altogether operate close to 54,000 offices. Approximately 57% of companies and 76% of offices are in the temporary and contract sector of the industry.

ASA represents a majority of the industry in both sales and offices.

Staffing companies offer a wide range of employment-related services, predominantly

  • Temporary and contract staffing
  • Recruiting and permanent placement
  • Outsourcing and outplacement
  • Human resource consulting
While staffing industry growth has outpaced overall economic and employment growth, it employs only about 2% of the U.S. nonfarm workforce.