Staffing Services Industry Profile

Companies in this industry provide temporary staffing, outsourced HR management, and employee placement services. Major companies include Allegis Group, Kelly Services, ManpowerGroup, and Robert Half International (all based in the US), along with Adecco (Switzerland) and Randstad (the Netherlands).

The global staffing market revenue grew to about $520 billion in 2024 and is expected to have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 10% by 2031, according to Cognitive Market Research. The factors driving this growth include the rising volume of mergers and acquisitions, declining unemployment rate, increasing industrial production, and growing popularity of the online recruitment process. North America is the fastest-growing market, followed by Europe and Asia/Pacific region.

The US staffing services industry includes about 53,000 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $380 billion. The industry includes executive search services and professional employer organizations (PEOs), which are also covered in separate industry profiles.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Companies compete to fill talent pools with skilled employees. Some companies may concentrate on manual labor or administrative skills, while others specialize in engineering, IT, or professional attributes. Firms with a large network of offices tend to have the best advantage due to agreed-upon pricing or markup on services rendered. During economic downturns, clients typically reduce employment of temporary employees before conducting permanent staff layoffs. Pricing competition, which is stiffer among providers of clerical and industrial personnel, ...