Revenue fell 11.3% year-over-year in the first quarter at Comsys IT Partners Inc. (NASD: CITP) to $162.7 million. The Houston-based information technology staffing firm reported decreases in billable hours, but said the trend appears to be leveling off.

"Billable hours in the first quarter were down overall versus last year," said Senior VP and Chief Accounting Officer Amy Bobbitt, "but the rate of decline in our average weekly billable hours trend, measured on a rolling four-week basis, has improved over the past 10 weeks after significant declines in January. "

First-quarter gross margin narrowed to 23.4% from 24.4% in the year-ago quarter.

Comsys reported a first-quarter net loss of $1.9 million compared with net income of $5.1 million in the same period last year. The company reported $3.6 million in restructuring costs for the first quarter.

Comsys IT Partners Inc. (NASD: CITP)
For the first quarter ended March 29, 2009, compared with the same period in 2008.
Revenue: $162.7 million, -11.3%
Net loss: $1.9 million vs. net income of $5.1 million