US staffing levels are holding steady in professional and commercial occupations in recent weeks as the vaccine rollout continues nationwide and business activity levels continue to recover, according to the latest SIA | Bullhorn Staffing Indicator released today.
Hours worked in commercial staffing (industrial and office/clerical) rose 24% in the week ended April 17 when compared to the same week a year ago. However, they remained down 9% compared to the same week two years ago, suggesting room for further expansion as the industry returns to pre-pandemic levels.
In professional staffing (IT, healthcare, finance, etc.), hours worked increased 36% compared to the same week a year ago. Compared to two years ago, they were up 26%, supported in part by unusually high levels of healthcare staffing. Portions of IT staffing were also up by double digits amid demand for tech projects.
Overall, hours worked by temporary workers in the US — both commercial and professional— rose 28% in the week ended April 17 when compared to the same week a year ago, according to the Indicator.
The SIA | Bullhorn Staffing Indicator measures hours worked. It comprises two sets of analyses: a year-over-year comparison showing how the most recent week compared to the same week 12 months previously and an indexed value which has been benchmarked against data from the week ending Jan. 19, 2019.
For the week ended April 17 as a whole, the indexed value was 99.
Breaking down the indicator by type of staffing:
Professional staffing’s indexed value was 124 in the week ended April 17, up from 123 in the previous week.
Commercial staffing’s indexed value was 89 the week ended April 17, unchanged from the preceding week.
The indicator is based on an analysis of aggregated timesheet data regarding temporary workers supplied by staffing firms that work across a wide variety of occupations and industries in the US. Currently, the data reflects approximately 50,000 temporary workers from roughly 300 staffing firms that use Bullhorn’s technology solutions. It is also weighted and benchmarked against US Bureau of Labor Statistics data to approximate the composition of the staffing industry by skill.
Readings for the most-recent four weeks are subject to revision.
Anyone can download the full report on the SIA | Bullhorn Staffing Indicator. See here for more information.