Bullhorn Offers Federal Reserve Access to Critical Staffing Data

As the Federal Reserve navigates reduced access to private employment data, Bullhorn, the global leader in software for the staffing and recruitment industry, is highlighting the SIA | Bullhorn Staffing Indicator as a valuable resource for gauging real-time labor market trends to help inform economic analysis.

The Indicator is a unique tool that provides weekly insights into labor market activity across the U.S., reflecting weekly hours worked for an average of more than 150,000 workers employed by staffing firms that utilize Bullhorn’s technology solutions.

Comprehensive labor market coverage

As a partnership between Bullhorn and Staffing Industry Analysts, the SIA | Bullhorn Staffing Indicator represents a sizable sample of the U.S. staffing industry, reflecting a wide range of occupations, industry verticals and geographic footprint across the country. Each week, the Indicator reports data for the week that ended 10 days prior to the release, providing near real-time insights into temporary and contract staffing employment trends.

Staffing industry is a leading indicator of broader labor market trends

Contingent labor has always been a leading indicator for the U.S. employment market. Historically, temporary labor contracts one to two quarters prior to contractions in the broader employment market. Similarly, staffing and temporary employment expand rapidly ahead of jobs growth.

Significant labor market weakness, with potential signs of stabilization

For 18 months, the SIA | Bullhorn Staffing Indicator was signaling extremely weak demand for labor, with some segments having been in decline for quite some time. However, according to the Indicator’s most recent data, overall U.S. staffing hours are at a year-to-date high and have been for the last three weeks. The staffing market is demonstrating stabilization driven largely by slow growth in the light industrial sector, which has been offsetting the sluggish growth in professional jobs that includes areas like technology, finance and legal.

“By connecting millions of temporary and contract workers with businesses, the staffing industry has long served as a leading economic indicator,” said Art Papas, founder and CEO of Bullhorn. “The SIA | Bullhorn Staffing Indicator provides business leaders, investors and policy makers real-time, comprehensive labor market insights that are critical for strategic decision-making.”