In this week’s issue:
- Commercial staffing hours climbed 3% YoY the week ending Feb. 28, the strongest year-over-year performance since late 2024.
- Bullhorn and SIA expanded the Staffing Indicator to report Light Industrial and Office/Clerical as separate segments for the first time.
- The vast majority (93%) of job seekers admit to lying or embellishing during the hiring process; 65% of hiring managers say AI-generated resumes make verification harder.
- Skilled trades demand is now growing 3x faster than professional roles, and it now takes longer to hire an electrician than a software developer.
- Only 22% of global workers strongly believe their job is safe from elimination, per ADP Research.
Staffing hours hold, and the Indicator just got sharper
- U.S. temp staffing hours reached year-to-date highs the week ending Feb. 28, rising 2.4% week-over-week after the Presidents’ Day dip. Commercial hours climbed 2.1% WoW and 3% YoY, the strongest year-over-year performance since late 2024. Professional hours bounced back 4.1% WoW but remain down 1% YoY. The 13 holiday-free weeks ahead (through Memorial Day) offer the clearest visibility window for market dynamics. In both 2024 and 2025, late January marked the year’s high-water mark. Not this year. (Learn more)
- Bullhorn and SIA announced a significant expansion of the SIA | Bullhorn Staffing Indicator, splitting Light Industrial and Office/Clerical into separate reporting segments for the first time. The redesigned dashboard now tracks five segments (Professional, Commercial, IT, Light Industrial, and Office/Clerical) and classifies workers by occupation rather than employer industry. Data has been applied retroactively to January 2019. (Learn more)
Why it matters: Commercial hours are outperforming recent seasonal norms, and the Indicator’s new segments give leaders a sharper signal on where demand is actually shifting and where it isn’t.
Revenue signals are modest but consistent
- Temp staffing revenue growth came in at 2% in the latest SIA Pulse Survey, holding near the top of its range for the past three years. (Learn more)
- SIA projects U.S. staffing revenue will see a modest uptick in 2026, an estimated 2% growth, following contraction in 2025. The forecast reflects stabilization, not acceleration, with headwinds including sluggish labor market growth, low voluntary turnover, and continued client caution around hiring decisions. (Learn more)
Why it matters: Modest is still a recovery. Firms that used the downturn to sharpen operations and specialization are better positioned to capture share as volume returns.
Candidate trust is collapsing and AI is accelerating it
- The majority (93%) of job seekers admit to lying or embellishing during the hiring process, according to GCheck’s Trust in Hiring Report, based on 1,500 recent job seekers. Among them: 61% exaggerated expertise to match a job description, 47% fabricated stories during interviews, and 53% felt confident doing so because they doubted employers would verify their claims. 50% used AI to tailor applications for roles they didn’t fully meet. The trend is most pronounced among Gen Z, with 96% reporting some form of misrepresentation. (Learn more)
- More than half (65%) of hiring managers say AI-generated resumes are making hiring harder, per new Robert Half research. 84% of HR teams report heavier workloads from the surge in AI-assisted applications. 89% of hiring managers said staffing firms have been effective in navigating AI-related hiring challenges, citing skills verification, proprietary candidate performance data, and rigorous screening as key differentiators. (Learn more)
Why it matters: Verified, trusted candidates are becoming the scarcest resource in hiring, and the firms that can provide them have a growing and defensible competitive advantage.
The trades gap has become a structural emergency
- Skilled trades demand is growing 3x faster than professional roles, according to a Randstad USA analysis of more than 150 million U.S. job postings from 2022 to 2026. Robotics technician vacancies surged 113%, HVAC engineer demand rose 78%, industrial automation roles increased 51%, and general trades (electricians, welders, construction specialists) grew 30% on average. For the first time, the average time to hire a skilled trades worker (56 days) has surpassed desk-based professionals (54 days). The force behind it: AI infrastructure requires physical buildout, and that work runs on trades labor. (Learn more)
Why it matters: If your firm places in light industrial, construction, or infrastructure, this is a structural tailwind. If you don’t, clients in those sectors are walking toward whoever can solve this problem first.
Workers are anxious and disengaged employers are making it worse
- Only 22% of global workers strongly agree their job is safe from elimination, per ADP Research’s Today at Work 2026 report, based on 39,000+ workers across 36 markets. Confidence is lowest among individual contributors (18%) and frontline managers (21%). The productivity cost is real: workers who feel secure are six times more likely to be fully engaged. Workers whose employers invest in their skills development are 5.3x more likely to feel secure. Full engagement held flat at just 19% globally. (Learn more)
Why it matters: Your clients are sitting on a disengagement problem they may not see yet. Staffing firms that help clients articulate workforce investment, not just fill seats, will hold the conversation longer and position differently.
The StaffingHub Brief provides weekly insights for staffing agency leaders and publishes every Friday. Want to get essential staffing industry news delivered to your inbox? Sign up for our weekly and daily newsletters.
