The average fee earned by direct hire firms operating through BountyJobs rose 6.3% in 2014 to $22,113, online jobs marketplace BountyJobs announced in its new 2015 Direct Hire Agency Benchmarking report.

However, the average fees paid as a portion of direct-hire salaries are becoming stable at an average of about 21%.

“The data in this report shows that the direct hire agency market has heated up in the last few years, but is stabilizing,” said BountyJobs CEO Mike Hard. “But we’re also seeing higher salaries for many key job categories and industries, meaning companies are competing more than ever for scarce talent.”

Data for the report comes from 35,000 jobs filled by direct hire firms on the BountyJobs marketplace over the last five years in the US. Fixed fees are excluded.