U.S. staffing sales reached $37.4 billion—a new first-quarter high—while first-quarter staffing jobs grew 1.6% year-to-year, according to data released today by the American Staffing Association's Staffing Employment and Sales survey. Overall, staffing companies employed an average of 2.7 million temporary and contract workers per week in the first quarter of 2022.

On a quarter-to-quarter basis, staffing employment and sales typically peak in the fourth quarter due to holiday hiring, decline in the first quarter, and grow in subsequent quarters. That seasonal pattern held once again, with staffing jobs contracting by 197,000—or 6.7%—from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022. Staffing sales contracted by 4.8% in the quarter, less than the 10-year average of 5.8% for the first quarter.  

"The staffing and recruiting industry continues to support job creation and economic growth," said Richard Wahlquist, ASA president and chief executive officer. "In this challenging hiring climate, staffing companies are crucial players in providing flexibility and meeting the labor demands of companies looking to fill their full-time and flexible talent benches."   

Temporary and contract staffing sales rose 10.8% compared with the first quarter of 2021, and while there continues to be uncertainty related to current economic and geopolitical issues, staffing companies appear confident both in the short term and in the longer term. Companies expect their second-quarter revenue to grow 10.0% year-to-year and project it to expand 11.5% over the full year of 2022 compared with 2021.