Total staffing industry revenue is expected to decline 12.5% in 2009, said Barry Asin, chief analyst and managing executive of products at Staffing Industry Analysts, in his keynote on Tuesday at the Staffing Industry Executive Forum in Miami Beach FL.

"In the short term I don't have lots of really good news for you," Asin said. "I do have optimism for the longer term."

The Executive Forum drew more than 500 despite the recession that's hitting the staffing industry particularly hard. Recession and legislation affecting the staffing industry ranked among the top topics discussed Tuesday.

William Stoller, founder and vice chairman of Express Employment Professionals, in a panel on the history of staffing, advised that it's time for firms to plan for the next recession after the next uptick. "You have to be on the offensive," Stoller said. While fellow panelist Jack Wellman, president and COO of Joulé Inc., argued "You're planning for the next uptick, not the next recession."

Also Tuesday, in a session on staffing and the law, George Reardon, VP and general counsel of Adecco Group North America, said not a lot of legislation has specifically targeted staffing firms in the past, but that may change with the election of President Obama. It's "hard to imagine an anti-employer, anti-staffing bill he would refuse to sign," Reardon said.

In addition, Staffing Industry Analysts' founder Peter Yessne was honored Tuesday. Staffing Industry Analysts will introduce a new award named after Yessne to honor innovators in staffing.

The Executive Forum continues through Thursday.