Hours worked in the US staffing industry fell 6% year over year in the week ended Nov. 26, according to the SIA | Bullhorn Staffing Indicator, released today.

The decline was driven by a slowdown in demand for both commercial and professional staffing. However, the momentum with professional staffing remains more favorable.

Week over week, hours were down 4.4%.

Professional staffing hours were down 3% year over year. Year-to-date, the average year-over-year growth rate for professional staffing hours is 13%.

Hours worked in commercial occupations fell 8% year over year. Over the past five weeks, hours worked in commercial occupations fell by an average year-over-year growth rate of 8%. 

During the last five weeks, commercial hours dropped by an average of 1.1% week over week, while professional hours fell an average 2.6%; overall, hours in the US staffing industry fell an average 1.5% week over week.

SIA notes demand for temporary staffing services usually ramps up in the fourth quarter. However, this year, it expects high inflation, rising interest rates, and supply chain disruptions to likely weigh down on economic growth.

The SIA | Bullhorn Staffing Indicator measures hours worked. It comprises two sets of analyses: a year-over-year comparison showing how the most recent week compared to the same week 12 months previously and an indexed value that has been benchmarked against data from the week ended Jan. 19, 2019.

In the week ended Nov. 26, the index value was 100, following readings of 104 in each of the prior two weeks as revised.

The full report on the SIA | Bullhorn Staffing Indicator, which provides additional information, is available online.