US staffing levels held roughly stable in professional and commercial occupations in recent weeks as the vaccine rollout continues and state economies continue to lift restrictions, according to the latest SIA | Bullhorn Staffing Indicator released today.

Hours worked in commercial staffing (industrial and office/clerical) rose 23% in the week ended April 24 when compared to the same week a year ago. However, they remained down 4% compared to the same week two years ago, suggesting that substantial recovery has taken place compared to levels before the pandemic.

In professional staffing (IT, healthcare, finance, etc.), hours worked increased 33% compared to the same week a year ago. Compared to two years ago, they were up 24%, with growth supported by elevated levels of healthcare staffing related to the pandemic. In addition, portions of IT staffing were up double digits compared to both one and two years ago due to continued high demand for technology projects.

Overall, hours worked by temporary workers in the US — both commercial and professional— rose 27% in the week ended April 24 when compared to the same week a year ago, according to the Indicator, with the high growth rate largely explained by the pullback in temporary staffing that occurred in April 2020 due to pandemic lockdowns.

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 which has been benchmarked against data from the week ended Jan. 19, 2019.

For the week ended April 24 as a whole, the indexed value was 100, following readings of 99 and 97 in the prior two weeks respectively.

Breaking down the indicator by type of staffing:

Professional staffing’s indexed value was 121 in the week ended April 24, following readings of 123 and 121 in the prior two weeks.

Commercial staffing’s indexed value was 91 the week ended April 24, up from readings of 88 and 87 in the prior two weeks.

The indicator is based on an analysis of aggregated timesheet data regarding temporary workers supplied by staffing firms that work across a wide variety of occupations and industries in the US. Currently, the data reflects approximately 50,000 temporary workers from roughly 300 staffing firms that use Bullhorn’s technology solutions. It is also weighted and benchmarked against US Bureau of Labor Statistics data to approximate the composition of the staffing industry by skill.

Readings for the most-recent four weeks are subject to revision.

Anyone can download the full report on the SIA | Bullhorn Staffing Indicator. See here for more information.