The staffing industry generated $428 billion in revenue worldwide in 2016, according to the “Global Staffing Industry Market Estimates and Forecast: May 2017 Update” released by Staffing Industry Analysts. Three countries — the US, Japan and the UK — made up a majority of the revenue.

Temporary staffing generated 89% of the revenue, with the remaining 11% stemming from place and search. Although commercial jobs were the primary driver of temporary staffing revenue overall, there were market exceptions, such as in the US, where professional jobs accounted for the majority of revenue.

Staffing Industry Analysts predicts global staffing revenue will continue to grow in 2017 and 2018.

“Our forecast aligns with the IMF’s [International Monetary Fund's] moderate outlook for global economic growth over the next two years,” Staffing Industry Analysts President Barry Asin said. “Despite a mix of uncertainty in certain markets, the strong secular trends and favorable regulatory changes in others, combined with expanding multinational contingent workforce programs, signal balanced industry performance worldwide.”

Staffing Industry Analysts’ corporate members and CWS council members can download the full Global Staffing Industry Market Estimates and Forecast: May 2017 Update report online. Information from the report will be covered in the Staffing Industry Report Webinar next Tuesday.