The U.S. Census Bureau reported fourth-quarter revenue in the U.S. employment services industry was $44.05 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009 (not seasonally adjusted), down 0.9% from the same period in the previous year.

For full-year 2009, the Census Bureau reported employment services revenue was $160.98 billion, down 10.3% from $179.39 billion in 2008.

The Census Bureau's numbers differ from other estimates. Staffing Industry Analysts estimates 2009 staffing industry revenue fell 26% compared with 2008.

In addition, the Census Bureau's estimate of a 0.9% decline in fourth quarter employment services revenue is much less than the median year-over-year decline in fourth-quarter revenue of 15.3% in a basket of 27 publicly traded staffing firms tracked by Staffing Industry Analysts.

The employment services category includes employment placement agencies, executive search firms, temporary employment agencies and professional employer organizations.