US temporary staffing revenue rose a median 7% year over year in March — an acceleration from 5% in February — among staffing firms taking part in Staffing Industry Analysts’ monthly Pulse survey.

“Temporary staffing overall showed robust expansion in March,” SIA Research Analyst Sree Thiyagarajan said. “Modest revenue growth reported by healthcare staffing firms and robust expansion reported by industrial staffing firms are two noticeable trends in March.”

 Median year-over-year revenue growth accelerated in the following staffing segments in March from February:

• Locum tenens: to 4% from -4%
• Allied healthcare: to 7% from 2%
• Travel nursing: to 7% from 5%
• Marketing/creative: to 2% from 0%
• Office/clerical: to 3% from 2%

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

• Legal: to 3% from 15%
• Per diem nursing: to -4% from 5%
• Clinical/scientific: to 11% from 19%
• Engineering/design: to 5% from 10%
• IT: to 2% from 5%
• Finance/accounting: to 1% from 3%

Median year-over-year revenue growth stayed the same — 6% — for the industrial staffing segment.

The March report also found the net proportion of firms reporting an increasing trend in new orders rose to 58% in March, up from 42% in February and higher than the last 12-month average of 40% for this metric. The net proportion of firms reporting an increase in new orders increased to 87% for IT staffing firms in March — the highest level ever observed by Pulse participants — and to 80% for industrial staffing firms, the highest level observed since April 2014.

Average sales difficulty fell to 2.58 in March from 2.63 in February (on a five-point scale, with five being most difficult), while average recruiting difficulty rose to 3.18 from 3.15 in the survey overall. Industrial and IT staffing firms reported a decrease in average sales and recruiting challenges. Healthcare staffing firms reported a decrease in recruiting difficulty while sales difficulty levels increased. Staffing firms serving the manufacturing industry reported an increase in average recruiting difficulty, while sales difficulty decreased.

Pulse survey results are based on a monthly survey of US staffing firms. Data from the month of March were submitted by individuals from 127 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.