The global staffing industry is forecast to grow by 12% this year to a total of USD 445 billion (EUR 390 billion) following a decline of 11% in 2020 as the market continues to recover from Covid-19, according to the “Global Staffing Market Estimates & Forecasts” report released Friday by Staffing Industry Analysts.

Looking further ahead, the report forecast more moderate revenue growth of 8% in 2022; however, many staffing markets in Europe and Asia are expected to grow by double digits.

This forecast is an upgrade from SIA’s previous global forecast published in November 2020 given stronger economic forecasts at the start of 2021 following a better-than-expected final quarter of 2020. Comparing global staffing markets in 2021 to the pre-pandemic year of 2019 paints a rather mixed picture but nearly all countries should have recovered by 2022.

While it appears the worst of Covid-19 may be behind us, many countries still face challenges. For example, the impact and spread of regional variants have raised concerns in many parts of the world.

Staffing revenue in Europe, the Middle East and Africa was USD 178 billion (EUR 157 billion) in 2020. Revenue in the Americas (North and South America) totalled USD 152 billion (EUR 133 billion), and revenue in Asia Pacific was USD 115 billion (EUR 101 billion).

The six largest countries in terms of percent of 2020 revenue were:

1. US, 31%
2. Japan, 15%
3. UK, 9%
4. Germany, 5%
5. France, 5%
6. Netherlands, 5%

For more information on growth, include breakdowns by country, corporate members of Staffing Industry Analysts can download the full report.