This month’s Pulse Survey highlighted a median 2% year-over-year decrease in US temporary staffing revenue in April. This is up slightly from a 3% decrease in February, with aggregate staffing revenue down 10% compared to the same time last year. This trend was more pronounced in the larger firms surveyed, with medium company revenue remaining flat and large companies reporting a drop of 13%. However, locum tenens and allied healthcare staffing segments reported strong median revenue growth of 11% and 5%, respectively.
Average sales difficulty increased to 3.34, while average recruiting difficulty decreased to 3.07. This is the first time since the beginning of the COVID pandemic that recruiting difficulty was higher than sales difficulty. Additionally, the net increase in new orders was -32%, the lowest it has been since the pandemic began.
When asked how they expected AI to impact staffing levels over the next three years, 23% of respondents reported that they expect AI to lead to reduced staffing levels, 62% reported that it would have a neutral impact, and 15% anticipated that AI would lead to an increased need for staffing.
The full SIA Pulse Survey report provides further insight into trends in revenue, bill rates, orders, gross margins
