US temporary staffing revenue rose a median 10% year over year in December among staffing firms taking part in Staffing Industry Analysts’ monthly Pulse Survey. This is an acceleration from the 5% rate reported for November.

“A median year over year growth rate of 10% for temporary staffing overall, indicates strength in the market,” said Research Analyst Sree Thiyagarajan. “Nevertheless, an increasing sales difficulty as well as a lower net proportion of firms reporting increases in new orders are bearish signals.”

Median year-over-year revenue growth accelerated in the following staffing segments in December from November:

• Industrial: to 7% from 5%
• Per diem nursing: to 23% from 18%
• Legal: to 3% from 0%
• Marketing/creative: to 5% from 1%

Median year-over-year revenue growth decelerated in the following staffing segments in December from November:

• Office/clerical: to 3% from 7%
• Travel nursing: to 29% from 38%
• Locum tenens: to 25% from 49%
• Allied healthcare: to 1% from 6%
• Finance/accounting: to 1% from 8%
• Clinical/scientific staffing: to -1% from 6%

Median year-over-year revenue growth remained unchanged in the engineering/design segment — which was down 4% — and in IT segment, which increased 5%.

The report also found direct hire revenue growth also accelerated to a median year-over-year expansion rate of 6% in December from 5% in November.

Sales difficulty increased to 2.78 from 2.66 (on a five-point scale, with five meaning most difficult) while average recruiting difficulty decreased to 3.14 from 3.25 in the survey overall. IT staffing firms reported sales difficulty of 3.00, down from 3.33 last month, which was the highest level observed since we began tracking this metric in 2013.

The net proportion of firms reporting an increasing trend in new orders declined to 21% in December from 28% reported for November. This is lower than the 33% average for last 12 months. The net proportion of firms reporting an increase in new orders decreased in December in all sectors, except IT. The net proportion of firms reporting an increasing trend in new orders for industrial firms, and firms supplying the healthcare and manufacturing industries were all below their trailing 12-month averages.

Pulse Survey results are based on a monthly survey of US staffing firms. Data from the month of December was submitted by individuals from 118 staffing companies. Report highlights are available online.

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