Staffing and Human Resources Consulting

The industry has three main sectors: staffing agencies; recruiting firms (which include general recruiting firms and executive recruiting firms); and personnel consulting companies.

The U.S. employment and recruitment industry was valued at $35.8 billion in revenue in February 2025, according to the research group IBISWorld. The pandemic disrupted the industry in 2020, due to business lockdowns and mass layoffs by companies. Employment ramped up in 2021, however, and the staffing and human resources industry in the U.S. is projected to continue to rebound post pandemic. According to the American Staffing Association (ASA), nearly 2.5 million temporary and contract workers are employed by staffing companies during an average week. There are about 19,800 staffing and recruiting companies in the United States. The global staffing market generated approximately $893.9 billion in revenue as of September 2024, growing at an annual rate of nearly 2 percent from 2019 through 2024, as reported by IBISWorld.

General recruiting firms, also known as contingency recruiters, often focus on providing workers in a particular industry such as technology or health care. They are paid by a company only if the candidate they recommend is hired. Contingency recruiters typically focus on recruiting entry-level to mid-level workers.

Executive recruiting firms (also known as headhunters, retained recruiters, and retained search firms) focus on recruiting for high-level positions such as CEOs. They are paid whether the candidate is hired or not. IBISWorld reported that in 2024, revenue in the U.S. executive search and leadership industry was $10.5 billion, growing at an annual rate of 2.3 percent from 2019 through 2024.

Personnel consulting companies provide human resources solutions (consulting and management, wage and salary administration, employee benefits planning and administration, etc.) to companies. Professional employer organizations make up a large segment of this industry. According to the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO), a professional employer organization (PEO) relationship “involves a contractual allocation and sharing of employer responsibilities between the PEO and the client.” These firms typically provide services to small- and mid-sized businesses, although the number of large firms entering PEO relationships is growing.

A wide variety of permanent employees work in the staffing and personnel management industry, including recruitment, placement, and employment specialists and consultants; sales workers; job analysts, employer liaisons, and managers; and support staff such as secretaries, office clerks, researchers, Information Technology specialists, and accountants.

The staffing industry provides great opportunities for people who are seeking flexible work arrangements and schedules. It also provides them with the opportunity to “try out” various employers and get a “foot in the door” before eventually landing a full-time job. In fact, many of the staffing employees surveyed by the ASA report that working for staffing firms made them more employable.

The staffing and personnel management industry will continue to grow as demand for temporary and contract workers increases and more companies and other organizations utilize the services of recruiters to help them find the most qualified candidates.