Third-quarter revenue rose 7.7% at Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ: BBSI) to $294.3 million, driven by the firm’s professional employer organization business.

Barrett’s PEO revenue rose 8.5% year over year to $272.8 million at the Vancouver, Washington-headquartered company. The average number of worksite employees (WSEs) — employees of Barrett’s PEO clients — was up 4.8% in the third quarter to 133,398.

In temporary staffing, the company’s other business line, revenue fell 1.9% in the third quarter to $21.5 million.

“The momentum of our business strengthened in the third quarter, with billings growth ahead of our expectations and a record number of gross WSE additions from new clients,” BBSI President and CEO Gary Kramer said in a press release. “Once again, these results are attributed to various strategies to increase our sales funnel, strong client retention and the continued rollout of value-added offerings like BBSI Benefits.”

Barrett Business Services – Q3 2024

Revenue by Business Line

Guidance

Barrett forecast gross billings growth of between 7% and 8% for full-year 2024, compared to the prior estimate of 6% to 8% growth, and growth of 4% to 5% in the average number of worksite employees.

Share Price

Shares in Barrett were down 0.15% to $40.31 as of 11:46 a.m. Eastern time on Nov. 7. They set a new 52-week high Nov. 6 when they reached $41.18.