Skip page header and navigation

2020 vision: A year in review for industrial staffing

Industrial Staffing Report

2020 vision: A year in review for industrial staffing

Timothy Landhuis
| December 15, 2020
ConstructHat

Main content

As a tumultuous year comes to an end, what is the current state of play for the industrial staffing market? The workforce solutions ecosystem is more complex than ever before. As the supply and demand for workers continue to change, industrial staffing leaders need to adapt quickly to turn disruptive obstacles into revenue-producing opportunities.

In periods of heightened economic uncertainty, access to timely and relevant data becomes increasingly necessary for business managers. This is certainly the case for industrial staffing executives as they assess strategic planning initiatives and attempt to construct a 2021 operating budget, for example.

Here are several recent SIA reports that you may have missed this year that can help you navigate the uncertainty and hopefully ultimately thrive as the recovery kicks in.

2020 Pay Rate Rangefinder

Fine-tune your understanding of labor supply and demand trends by using the Pay Rate Rangefinder interactive tool, which contains employment and wage data on a full range of industrial occupations by state and metro area.

Average hourly wage for forklift operators (SIA’s Pay Rate Rangefinder)

Click on chart to enlarge.

timothy chart

Largest Industrial Staffing Firms in the US: 2020 Update

Gain insight on the key players and competitive landscape in the US industrial staffing industry from this report, which identifies 53 leading staffing companies that combined generated $27.4 billion in revenue.

Gross Margin and Bill Rate Trends – December 2020 Update

Use this report to track industry trends in gross margin percentage across the staffing industry. We track cyclical and secular trends over the past 20 years, as well as specific analysis of gross margin movements in the most recent quarters.

US Staffing Industry Pulse Survey Report

In this selected highlight version, we provide year-over-year revenue statistics for all US skill segments. Staffing firms that participate in the survey gain access to the full 35-page report of results. The full report contains insights on trends in revenue, bill rates, orders, gross margins, recruiting/sales difficulty, and a six-month outlook for each staffing skill segment. You can participate by visiting our SIA Research Surveys webpage.

Workforce Solutions Ecosystem: 2020 Update

Use this report to stay atop the latest trends in the US workforce solutions ecosystem, including a variety of adjacent services that are increasingly offered by staffing firms or delivered in partnership with staffing. This report also includes a detailed examination of the key categories of talent acquisition technology, crucially important for maintaining a competitive advantage.

Although today’s economic uncertainty leaves leaders in the staffing industry guessing what’s next, one thing is clear: It is going to be an interesting ride. SIA’s content and data can keep you informed and ahead of the curve, helping you make sense of what is happening in the world of work.

We wish our readers a happy and healthy new year!


Portions of this article were adapted from SIA’s Engineering Staffing Report written by Matt Norton, senior research analyst at SIA.