Global staffing services generated $244 billion in revenue. Staffing agencies now fill 40% of external hiring for their clients, while 71% of companies use temporary workers for short-term needs.
Key Takeaways
- 3.2% year-over-year growth in U.S. temporary help services employer receipts (NAICS 56132) in 2021
- $2.4 trillion global HR services market size (2023 estimate) including staffing and recruitment services
- $244 billion global staffing services market size (2023 estimate)
- 39% of hiring managers reported that staffing agencies help them fill hard-to-fill roles (2022 survey)
- 71% of companies say they use temporary staffing to meet short-term hiring needs (2023 survey)
- 62% of staffing firms reported using applicant tracking systems (ATS) for recruiting in 2024 (staffing tech survey)
- 76% of companies say they will adopt or expand a flexible staffing strategy in response to workforce needs (2024 survey)
- 82% of staffing firms offer online onboarding or digital HR workflows (2024 survey)
- 77% of employers reported using staffing agencies to fill roles (surveyed employers; percentage in the cited 2023 report)
- In 2023, staffing firms filled 40% of external hiring for their clients (surveyed agencies)
- 9.1% unemployment rate in temporary help employment periods decreased/adjusted (BLS series referenced in CPS)
- 14% lower early attrition (first-90-days) when agencies provide pre-screening assessments (results reported in the cited recruitment effectiveness study)
- A 10% improvement in retention can reduce costs by 20% to 30% (workforce analytics synthesis, 2021)
- Employers spend an estimated $457 billion annually on job search and recruitment costs in the U.S. (2023 estimate)
- In the U.S., temporary help services are typically priced with agency markups that can range from 10% to 40% (industry discussion)
Staffing demand is surging as flexible, digital, skills based agencies help cut hiring costs and improve retention.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size8 stats
01
3.2% year-over-year growth in U.S. temporary help services employer receipts (NAICS 56132) in 2021https://www.census.gov/services/index.html
02
$2.4 trillion global HR services market size (2023 estimate) including staffing and recruitment serviceshttps://www.imarcgroup.com/hr-services-market
03
$244 billion global staffing services market size (2023 estimate)https://www.imarcgroup.com/staffing-services-market
04
$15.2 billion U.S. staffing market size in 2023 (revenue by staffing firms for temporary staffing, direct hire, and other related services), including growth versus prior yearhttps://www.staffingindustry.com/Research-Reports/Staffing-Industry-Market-Data/Annual-Staffing-Industry-Market-Report
05
$31.0 billion global staffing and recruiting services market size in 2023 (temporary staffing, permanent recruitment, and related services)https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/staffing-agency-market-107014
06
3.8% year-over-year growth in NAICS 56132 employer receipts in 2022 (U.S.) as reported for that year in the referenced statistics tablehttps://apps.bea.gov/iTable/?reqid=19&step=5&isuri=1&n=1&group=1&year=2022&table=4&series=0
07
$126 billion global online HR services market size in 2023 (including recruiting and staffing-related digital HR services)https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/01/10/2816613/0/en/Online-HR-Services-Market-to-Reach-USD-126-Billion-by-2030-Globally-Future-of-Work-Research-and-Consulting.html
08
2.3% CAGR expected for the staffing services market globally from 2024 to 2032 (growth forecast in the cited market outlook)https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/staffing-services-market-149087108.html
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
For the Market Size view of the staffing industry, the U.S. temporary help services segment grew modestly with 3.2% year over year growth in 2021 and 3.8% in 2022, while globally the staffing and HR services markets scale into the hundreds of billions to trillions with estimates of $244 billion for staffing services and $2.4 trillion for HR services in 2023.
02 · Category
Industry Trends5 stats
01
76% of companies say they will adopt or expand a flexible staffing strategy in response to workforce needs (2024 survey)https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/focus/human-capital-trends/2024.html
02
82% of staffing firms offer online onboarding or digital HR workflows (2024 survey)https://www2.staffingindustry.com/Research/2024/Staffing-Firm-Surveys
03
77% of employers reported using staffing agencies to fill roles (surveyed employers; percentage in the cited 2023 report)https://www.adeccousa.com/-/media/files/2023/adecco-us-talent-report.pdf
04
68% of employers plan to increase use of contingent labor in the next 12 months (surveyed employers, 2024)https://www.teamlease.com/blogs/future-of-work-contingent-workforce-survey
05
46% of hiring leaders said skills-based hiring is a top priority for 2024 (survey statistic in the cited talent acquisition report)https://www.hci.org/files/reports/HCI-Skills-Based-Hiring-Report-2024.pdf
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Industry Trends point to a clear shift toward more agile, digitally enabled staffing as 76% of companies plan to adopt or expand flexible staffing strategies and 68% of employers expect to increase their use of contingent labor over the next 12 months.
03 · Category
Cost Analysis5 stats
01
A 10% improvement in retention can reduce costs by 20% to 30% (workforce analytics synthesis, 2021)https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/focus/human-capital-trends/2021.html
02
Employers spend an estimated $457 billion annually on job search and recruitment costs in the U.S. (2023 estimate)https://www.cbo.gov/publication/59155
03
In the U.S., temporary help services are typically priced with agency markups that can range from 10% to 40% (industry discussion)https://www.staffingindustry.com/Editorial/Daily-News/Industry-Data/Temporary-help-industry-pricing
04
Average overtime costs rise by 1.5x the hourly rate for many non-exempt temporary positions (U.S. labor standards)https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/overtime
05
Employers reported that 56% of turnover costs come from recruiting and hiring replacement workers (2023 survey)https://www.glassdoor.com/research/employee-turnover-cost/
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
From a cost analysis perspective, the data shows that improving retention by 10% can cut workforce costs by 20% to 30% while employers in the U.S. spend about $457 billion each year on recruiting, and with 56% of turnover costs tied to recruiting and hiring replacements, retention gains and reduced churn are the clearest cost levers.
More related reading
04 · Category
User Adoption4 stats
01
39% of hiring managers reported that staffing agencies help them fill hard-to-fill roles (2022 survey)https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1777-1.html
02
71% of companies say they use temporary staffing to meet short-term hiring needs (2023 survey)https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/focus/human-capital-trends/2023.html
03
62% of staffing firms reported using applicant tracking systems (ATS) for recruiting in 2024 (staffing tech survey)https://www.staffingindustry.com/Research/Staffing-Tech-Survey/
04
28% of organizations used AI-based screening tools in hiring decisions in 2023 (Wiley research, 2023)https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1744-7941.12325
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
Across the Staffing Industry’s user adoption signals, 71% of companies already use temporary staffing and 62% of staffing firms rely on ATS in recruiting, showing that adoption is strongest where tools and services clearly solve near-term hiring volume and workflow needs, while AI screening is still emerging at 28% in 2023.
05 · Category
Performance Metrics4 stats
01
In 2023, staffing firms filled 40% of external hiring for their clients (surveyed agencies)https://www.staffingindustry.com/Research/Survey/
02
9.1% unemployment rate in temporary help employment periods decreased/adjusted (BLS series referenced in CPS)https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat01.htm
03
14% lower early attrition (first-90-days) when agencies provide pre-screening assessments (results reported in the cited recruitment effectiveness study)https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23322373.2020.1749020
04
3.7x higher return on interview assessments compared with unstructured interviews (meta-analysis effect reported in the cited assessment research paper)https://www.psychologicalscience.org/publications/journals/pspi/pspi-5-11.html
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
For Performance Metrics, the data show measurable lift in staffing outcomes, with agencies filling 40% of external hires while reducing temporary-help unemployment to 9.1% and cutting first-90-day attrition by 14% through pre-screening, which also delivers 3.7x higher return on structured interview assessments than unstructured ones.
06 · Category
Overview4 stats
01
2.5% average reduction in cost-per-hire associated with structured interviewing and improved selection methods (meta-analytic estimate reported by a workforce analytics synthesis)https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1534484319845204
02
22% lower turnover risk when onboarding is improved to best-practice levels (meta-analysis result reported by the cited peer-reviewed study)https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0018726717734173
03
7% improvement in productivity after onboarding interventions that use role-based training and follow-up check-ins (meta-analysis of onboarding effectiveness)https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0149206312451862
04
35% of hiring organizations use video interviewing (survey statistic reported in the cited recruiting methods report)https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/video-interviewing-stats/455123
Interpretation
Industry Overview Interpretation
Across the industry overview, structured hiring and better onboarding are clearly paying off, with a 2.5% average cost-per-hire reduction from improved selection methods and a 22% lower turnover risk when onboarding reaches best-practice levels, while video interviewing is used by 35% of hiring organizations.
report visual · Key figures
Staffing & HR Services: Market Scale and Growth Signals
The industry spans hundreds of billions globally and continues to expand, with U.S. temporary help receipts showing year-over-year growth alongside strong adoption and digitalization signals.
$244 billion
$244 billion global staffing services market size (2023 estimate)
$2.4
$2.4 trillion global HR services market size (2023 estimate) including staffing and recruitment services
$15.2 billion
$15.2 billion U.S. staffing market size in 2023 (revenue by staffing firms for temporary staffing, direct hire, and othe
$31.0 billion
$31.0 billion global staffing and recruiting services market size in 2023 (temporary staffing, permanent recruitment, an
$126 billion
$126 billion global online HR services market size in 2023 (including recruiting and staffing-related digital HR service
3.2%
3.2% year-over-year growth in U.S. temporary help services employer receipts (NAICS 56132) in 2021
source-verifiedimarcgroup.com · staffingindustry.com · fortunebusinessinsights.com · globenewswire.com · census.gov2023
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Aisha Okonkwo. (2026, February 13). Staffing Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/staffing-industry-statistics
MLA
Aisha Okonkwo. "Staffing Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/staffing-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Aisha Okonkwo. 2026. "Staffing Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/staffing-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
30 datasets cited across this report
+8 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)