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 2021
02
$2.4 trillion global HR services market size (2023 estimate) including staffing and recruitment services
03
$244 billion global staffing services market size (2023 estimate)
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 year
05
$31.0 billion global staffing and recruiting services market size in 2023 (temporary staffing, permanent recruitment, and related services)
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 table
07
$126 billion global online HR services market size in 2023 (including recruiting and staffing-related digital HR services)
08
2.3% CAGR expected for the staffing services market globally from 2024 to 2032 (growth forecast in the cited market outlook)
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)
02
82% of staffing firms offer online onboarding or digital HR workflows (2024 survey)
03
77% of employers reported using staffing agencies to fill roles (surveyed employers; percentage in the cited 2023 report)
04
68% of employers plan to increase use of contingent labor in the next 12 months (surveyed employers, 2024)
05
46% of hiring leaders said skills-based hiring is a top priority for 2024 (survey statistic in the cited talent acquisition report)
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)
02
Employers spend an estimated $457 billion annually on job search and recruitment costs in the U.S. (2023 estimate)
03
In the U.S., temporary help services are typically priced with agency markups that can range from 10% to 40% (industry discussion)
04
Average overtime costs rise by 1.5x the hourly rate for many non-exempt temporary positions (U.S. labor standards)
05
Employers reported that 56% of turnover costs come from recruiting and hiring replacement workers (2023 survey)
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)
02
71% of companies say they use temporary staffing to meet short-term hiring needs (2023 survey)
03
62% of staffing firms reported using applicant tracking systems (ATS) for recruiting in 2024 (staffing tech survey)
04
28% of organizations used AI-based screening tools in hiring decisions in 2023 (Wiley research, 2023)
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)
02
9.1% unemployment rate in temporary help employment periods decreased/adjusted (BLS series referenced in CPS)
03
14% lower early attrition (first-90-days) when agencies provide pre-screening assessments (results reported in the cited recruitment effectiveness study)
04
3.7x higher return on interview assessments compared with unstructured interviews (meta-analysis effect reported in the cited assessment research paper)
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
Industry 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)
02
22% lower turnover risk when onboarding is improved to best-practice levels (meta-analysis result reported by the cited peer-reviewed study)
03
7% improvement in productivity after onboarding interventions that use role-based training and follow-up check-ins (meta-analysis of onboarding effectiveness)
04
35% of hiring organizations use video interviewing (survey statistic reported in the cited recruiting methods report)
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 · attribution is report-level
+8 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)