With the rate of coronavirus spread decelerating across the US, and as businesses continue to reopen and adapt their operations to function during the pandemic, the US economy continues to gradually improve. Indeed, the consensus among economists — such as this concise summary from the Conference Board — is that US GDP will only shrink by 3.8% this year, a huge improvement from the 7.0% decline predicted in July. The current outlook continues to envision a “swoosh”-shaped recovery, with steady progress in each consecutive month after the steep declines of March and April.

The economic recovery has been good news for industrial staffing firms. With the cyclical sectors of manufacturing and construction returning to growth, this has brought a return of demand for light industrial workers placed by temporary staffing agencies. In addition, the consumer shift to e-commerce has accelerated further due to the pandemic, creating staffing demand for warehouse and logistics workers.

Based on this positive volume growth, as well as rising pay rates, SIA now forecasts that US industrial staffing firm revenue will decline only 20% this year. For more details on our projection, see our US Staffing Industry Forecast: September 2020 Update and corresponding webinar presentation. This forecast represents a modest upgrade from the 22% decline we estimated in our July Forecast report. With a Covid-19 vaccine expected to be widely available by early 2021, we project that industrial staffing revenue will grow 15% in 2021 compared to 2020.

For additional metrics and color on growth in the industrial staffing segment, we invite staffing firms to participate in our September US Staffing Industry Pulse Survey in order to receive a timely report on current conditions. This month’s Pulse survey closes on Tuesday, Sept. 22.