Temporary help employment has risen every month of 2026. The recovery is industrial.

How much has temp employment grown?

BLS counts everyone on the payroll of a temporary help services firm (NAICS 56132), benchmarked to state unemployment insurance records. That count stood at 2,483,300 in August 2025 and 2,519,500 in August 2026, a gain of 36,200 or 1.5 percent. The path through 2026 has been steady rather than steep, and one month, May, added only 200 jobs. But there has been no down month, which has not happened since 2021.

The penetration rate, temp help as a share of all nonfarm jobs, was 1.58 percent in August (2,519,500 divided by 159,075,000). At the March 2022 peak it was about 2.0 percent. Closing that gap at today's payroll base would take roughly 670,000 more temporary jobs. That is the size of the "missing" temp workforce, and it is why the industry describes 2026 as year one of a shallow recovery rather than a boom. The broader employment services industry, which includes placement agencies and PEOs, employed 3,226,400 in August.

Why do the industry indexes show faster growth than BLS?

The American Staffing Association's weekly Staffing Index reached a rounded value of 93 for the week of August 10 to 16, 2026, with a four week moving average of 92. Temporary and contract employment for that four week period was 4.4 percent higher than the same period of 2025, and the week itself was 5.5 percent above a year earlier. New starts rose 5.0 percent week over week and 49 percent of firms reported gains in new assignments, the highest share of the year (ASA, August 25, 2026).

That is a four point gap with the BLS growth rate of 1.5 percent, and both numbers are right. The ASA index samples ASA member firms and is weighted toward larger companies. BLS surveys all establishments in the industry, including the thousands of small firms that did not survive the 2023 to 2025 downturn. We publish both, label each, and never present them as interchangeable. The ASA reading tells you what established firms are experiencing. The BLS reading tells you how many people are actually on temp payrolls.

Which segments are growing and which are shrinking?

Second quarter 2026 results from the public staffing companies show the split. Every firm with heavy blue collar exposure grew. Every firm concentrated in professional, consulting or education staffing was flat or down.

The demand drivers the chief executives named were the same across companies: energy, data centers and battery storage (TrueBlue), industrial reshoring, semiconductor expansion and data center buildout (Kelly), and manufacturing (Adecco). Kelly's CEO called AI "a tailwind, not a headwind." Pricing, per Adecco management, "remains firm."

What do the forecasters say?

Staffing Industry Analysts raised its 2026 US staffing revenue forecast in September to $183.1 billion, growth of 2.4 percent, from $180.2 billion and 1 percent in its March update, citing strong but uneven performance in the industrial segment. SIA projects $187.0 billion in 2027, up 2.2 percent. It is the first upward revision of this cycle.

The American Staffing Association's quarterly survey, released June 25, put first quarter 2026 temporary and contract staffing sales at $27.6 billion, down 1.6 percent from a year earlier, the smallest first quarter decline since 2022. That is a quarterly figure; annualizing it produces a run rate, not a forecast. ASA said it expected year over year growth in the remaining quarters of 2026.

Why does temp help lead when overall hiring is slow?

The July JOLTS report shows a market with 7.3 million openings, a hires rate of 3.2 percent, a quits rate of 1.9 percent and a layoffs rate of 1.0 percent, all monthly rates. Economists call it low hire, low fire. Employers with orders to fill but no appetite for permanent headcount reach for flexible labor first. The Conference Board's Employment Trends Index rose to 108.53 in August, and temporary help employment was among its positive contributors. The September 2 Beige Book recorded that placement agencies in the Chicago District saw "a slight increase in demand for manufacturing workers."

One regulatory change helps clients. On February 25, 2026 the National Labor Relations Board readopted its 2020 joint employer standard: a client is a joint employer only if it "possesses and exercises substantial direct and immediate control" over essential terms such as wages, discipline and supervision. Leave those to the staffing firm and the bargaining risk stays there too.

What to watch

• Whether the BLS temp help growth rate (1.5 percent) converges toward the ASA index (5.5 percent) or the reverse. The October 2 BLS release for September is the next test.
• The final Department of Labor independent contractor and joint employment rules, both still proposed as of September 13, 2026.
• Connecticut's move to proactive pay range disclosure in October 2026, which reaches postings placed through staffing agencies for roles performable from that state.

Production note: drafted from the primary sources listed above with AI assistance, then reviewed and edited by Kenneth Cuzelis before publication. Read how we source and grade every number. Corrections: info@c3workforce.com or (734) 552-5731.