US temporary staffing revenue rose a median 5% year over year in February — a slight deceleration from 6% in January — among staffing firms taking part in Staffing Industry Analysts’ monthly Pulse survey.

“Year-over-year revenue growth in temporary staffing was moderate in February,” SIA Research Analyst Sree Thiyagarajan said. “However, an increase in new orders and bill rates observed by IT staffing firms are notable bullish signs for that segment.”

 Median year-over-year revenue growth decelerated in the following staffing segments in February from January:

• Per diem nursing: to 5% from 17%
• Locum tenens: to -4% from 5%
• IT: to 5% from 10%
• Allied healthcare: to 2% from 7%
• Industrial: to 6% from 9%
• Marketing/creative: to 0% from 3%
• Legal: to 15% from 17%
• Engineering/design: to 10% from 12%
• Office/clerical: to 2% from 3%
• Finance/accounting: to 3% from 4%

Median year-over-year revenue growth accelerated in the clinical/scientific staffing segment to 19% from 10%. Median year-over-year revenue growth stayed the same for the travel nursing staffing segment at 5%.

The February report also found the net proportion of firms reporting an increasing trend in new orders fell to 42% in February, down from 54% in January, which was the highest level reported since July 2015, but slightly higher than the last 12-month average of 40% for this metric. In February, the net proportion reporting an increase in new orders was higher than its 12-month average for IT staffing firms and staffing firms serving the healthcare industry, while it was slightly lower for industrial staffing firms and firms serving the manufacturing industry.

Average sales difficulty rose to 2.63 in February from 2.54 in January (on a five-point scale, with five being most difficult), and average recruiting difficulty rose to 3.15 from 3.05 in the survey overall. Industrial and IT staffing firms, and staffing firms serving the healthcare and manufacturing industries all reported an increase in average difficulty levels for sales and recruiting in February compared to January.

Industrial staffing firms and those serving manufacturing reported the highest average recruiting difficulty among the categories tracked in the report; IT staffing firms reported the highest average sales difficulty.

Pulse Survey results are based on a monthly survey of US staffing firms. Data from the month of February were submitted by individuals from 142 staffing companies. SIA corporate members can view a high-level summary of the report, and the full report is available to participants.

It’s free to take part, and the next Pulse Survey is currently underway. Participate now by selecting this link.