Global spend on recruitment process outsourcing fell 5% year over year to $8 billion in 2023, according to SIA’s new RPO Global Landscape and Differentiators 2024 report.

“2023 posed significant challenges for enterprises as they navigated an uncertain talent environment amid economic and geopolitical uncertainty,” according to the report. “Market conditions remain challenging given the uncertain macro-economic climate with RPO deals slow to progress and taking longer to close.”

SIA forecasts the RPO market will be flat this year.

The Americas region dominated the market with 50% of global RPO spend. The Europe, Middle East and Africa region represented 30% of spend, while the Asia Pacific region accounted for 20%.

A majority of global RPO spend, 81%, was for ongoing RPO programs. The remainder was for RPO solutions used only to meet the need of a specific business situation.

Matt Norton, workforce solutions research director at SIA, authored the report. It’s based on data from 19 RPO providers.

Members of SIA’s CWS Council can access the full RPO Global Landscape and Differentiators 2024 online.