US temporary staffing revenue rose a median 7% year over year in September among staffing firms taking part in Staffing Industry Analysts’ monthly Pulse Survey. This is up from a 5% growth rate reported in August.

Median year-over-year revenue growth in the office/clerical staffing segment was flat in September, an improvement from a 4% decline August. In the finance/accounting segment, median year-over-year revenue growth accelerated to 3% from 1% growth in August.

“A 7% median year-over-year revenue growth rate for temporary staffing overall indicates continued strength in the market,” said Research Associate Sree Thiyagarajan. “One noticeable observation for September is multiple challenges faced by IT staffing firms — increasing sales difficulty, decreasing bill rates and a diminishing net proportion reporting increases in new orders.”

The report also found median year-over-year revenue growth decelerated in the following staffing segments in September from August:

• Industrial: to 1% from 2% growth
• IT: to 6% from 7%
• Per diem nursing: to 16% from 20%
• Locum tenens: to 17% from 18%
• Allied healthcare: to 10% from 11%
• Engineering/design: to 0% from 1%

Median year-over-year revenue growth remained unchanged for travel nursing at 23% and for marketing/creative staffing at 9%.

Direct hire revenue growth also decelerated to a median year-over-year expansion rate of 8% in September, down from a rate of 10% in August.

However, sales difficulty edged up to 2.65 from 2.59 (on a five-point scale, with five meaning most difficult) and average recruiting difficulty decreased to 3.14 from 3.29 in the survey overall.

As a more bullish sign, the net proportion of firms reporting an increasing trend in new orders rose to 45% in September from 36% reported for August, a level above the last 12-month average of 34%.

Pulse Survey results are based on a monthly survey of US staffing firms. Data from the month of August was submitted by individuals from 114 staffing companies.

The full Pulse Survey Report is available to firms that take part in the survey. Features include data on bill rate trends, data split by US regions, and tables with a snapshot of year-over-year and month-over-month revenue growth for the most recent month.

The next Pulse Survey is currently underway. Participate now by selecting this link.