It’s been a tough year for the US staffing industry, as the SIA | Bullhorn Staffing Indicator found that temporary staffing hours worked for the week ending July 1st (“last week measured”) decreased by -6% compared to the same week 12 months previously. Commercial temporary staffing hours were down -6% and professional temporary staffing hours were also down -6% year-over-year. On a week-over-week basis, temporary staffing hours were stable (0.3%) and professional temporary staffing hours were up slightly 0.8%.

The Indexed Value for Professional Staffing was 128 for the week ending July 1st, following readings of 127 and 126 in the prior two weeks. The Commercial Staffing indexed value was 80 for the same week, following values of 80 and 81 in the prior two weeks. The US Staffing indexed value, weighted to reflect the US staffing industry mix of professional and commercial jobs, was 94 for the week ending July 1st.

Overall, the year-over-year decline in the Indicator is roughly in line with the decline in temporary help employment as reported in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly Employment Situation reports. Compared to the same week two years ago