Will AI lead to another spike in IT staffing?
IT Staffing Report
Will AI lead to another spike in IT staffing?

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Even for an industry like IT staffing, which has historically experienced solid growth, 2021 and 2022 were incredibly strong years. According to SIA research, the industry grew at double-digit annual rates (14% and 13%, respectively) and reached historic highs in revenue (more than $45 billion).
However, following this spike, the industry saw two years of pullback, a retrenchment that has been painful to business, particularly because losses have not been due to any one factor. While the entire staffing industry has been affected, losses in IT have at times seemed even more boggling to industry leaders because they have coincided with a surge in interest and speculation around new technology that has been billed as the biggest innovation since the internet: AI.
As we enter 2025, optimism seems to be growing, and the outlook for IT staffing is brightening. Exactly how bright remains to be seen, but the most recent US Staffing Industry Pulse Survey, published at the end of January, showed year-over-year revenue growth of 4% for IT staffing, the first uptick in a year. Those in the industry who are looking for a big upside are asking a key question: Will AI deliver another wave of record-breaking growth like was seen in 2021 and 2022?
It’s an incredibly hard question to answer. Not only are there many factors at play, the industry continues to change at an incredibly quick pace with massive new developments breaking on a seemingly weekly basis. That said, if forced to answer, I’d have to say no, I don’t expect that AI will deliver another spike in growth. And I think that’s actually good news: Here’s why.
For AI to power another spike in IT staffing, the many factors driving AI development and adoption would all need to move strongly in one direction at the same time. The spike in IT staffing that we saw in 2021 and 2022 occurred in the wake of the pandemic, when there was a rare confluence of all pressures — environmental, corporate and governmental — pushing toward remote work and the need for cutting-edge technological advancement among all companies, which drove up volumes. Simultaneously, inflation and a constricting labor market drove up wages and bill rates, creating rapid value gains.
AI seems unlikely to follow the same path. While all companies are acknowledging a move toward adoption, there is not the same alignment in scale and speed of transition. A Kearney survey of CEOs at large companies, published in January 2025, revealed a significant gap between leaders who believe in the strategic importance of AI (89%) and those who are ready to integrate it across their organizations (25%). Additionally, the Conference Board’s CHRO Confidence Index survey, also released in January 2025, revealed that 62% of CHROs are experimenting with AI with pilots and use cases.
This is evidence that each organization is working to determine its path forward with AI, and it’s likely that every company will determine when to move forward on its own timeframe. Even when they do implement AI solutions, companies are likely to have different strategies and needs, spreading demand growth across a variety of different roles and skill sets. This type of broad-based demand is likely to lead to steady growth, but not to a strong spike.
Another factor leading to a diversified roll out of AI implementation will be regulation, which is expected to begin to have a greater impact on the use of AI as we move through 2025. Emergence of AI regulations — which can carry hefty legal penalties, such as the penalty of $5,000 per violation per day for violations of California’s AI Act — will necessitate that companies approach AI rollouts thoughtfully. The speed at which companies move will likely be determined by the jurisdictions in which they operate (as AI regulations are by no means uniform), their appetite for risk and the availability of knowledgeable leaders and advisors to manage these transitions.
Taken together, all signs point to the revolutionary power of AI. Like with other fundamental technological shifts — such as the internet, the rise of cloud services and industrial robots, all shown in the chart below — roll out is likely to occur at a steady, generally quick pace but over an extended time. This is good news for IT staffing firms because it points toward a trend of solid, underlying demand similar to that which has underpinned the industry for most of the last two decades.

Curious to see how your expectations for 2025 compare to the industry? Join us at our Executive Forum North America 2025 conference taking place March 10-13 in Miami Beach, Florida, at the Fontainebleau Hotel. Be among the first to see SIA’s biannual update to the US Staffing Industry Forecast including the updated outlook for IT staffing, participate in facilitated networking roundtables and network with staffing executives from across the industry, all while gaining insight from industry leaders.