Employment Services NAICS 5613

        Employment Services

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Industry Summary

The 30,000 employment services firms in the US offer a wide range of employment-related services and solutions, including temporary and contract staffing, permanent placement, recruiting, outsourcing and outplacement, training, and human resource consulting. The industry is organized along three distinct segments: temporary help services, employment placement agencies, and professional employer organizations.

Internet Job Services

The proliferation of Internet job boards has made it easier for companies to advertise openings and find applicants on their own.

Growth of Flexible Workforces

Companies are placing increased value on the ability to quickly adjust to market conditions.


Recent Developments

May 12, 2025 - Smaller Cities Lure Telecommuters with Cash, Incentives
  • With 20% of Americans working remotely, the ability to work from anywhere no longer ties workers to specific geographic regions with high costs of living, and some smaller cities are now offering cash and other incentives to remote workers who move there. Smaller cities with declining populations have little clout to attract new employers to their areas and are instead courting telecommuters to spur economic growth. According to a report from relocation company MakeMyMove, cities such as New Albany, Indiana; Texarkana, Texas; Mayfield, Kentucky; and Jacksonville, Illinois; are floating perks like $5,000 relocation bonuses, free co-working spaces, rotary club memberships, start up grants, and even meetings with the mayor. It’s a trend that could become more widespread as the one-fifth of the population who works remotely (per the Bureau of Labor Statistics) continues to grow.
  • Employers in the US are increasingly hiring employees based on skills criteria and deemphasizing past job experience, according to global recruiting firm Hudson RPO. A survey of HR professionals in the US found that 60% of recruiters are placing more importance on transferable skills - capabilities that apply to different jobs and industries - than the historically standard educational and work experience qualifications. Workers who display transferable skills such as communications, leadership, and flexibility should have a leg up. The trend dovetails with data from consulting firm McKinsey & Company that says 90% of companies either currently have or will experience skills gaps in their workforce in the next five years. About 53% of employers told McKinsey they are tackling the problem by reskilling current employees, while the rest are relying more on skills-based hiring, shifting workers to different roles in an organization, and hiring more outside contractors.
  • Layoffs in the US job market spiked by 205% in March 2025, the third-highest level ever recorded, according to outplacement staffing firm Challenger, Grey & Christmas. The majority of job cuts came from the federal government with billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) firing 216,000 federal employees. (The previous highs in job cuts were both in 2020 when the pandemic shut down the US economy.) So far this year DOGE has cut 280,000 federal employees across almost 30 agencies, while another 4,500 employees - mainly at non-profits and health organizations - lost their jobs through the cancellation of federal contracts or aid. Challenger’s data also shows that hiring at private sector US companies is slowing with an expected drop of 16% from the same period last year.
  • The US unemployment rate hovered around a low 4% for most of 2024, but that still translates to roughly 7 million Americans out of work - and 1.6 million of those have been unemployed for more than six months, according to data from the US Department of Labor. The number of workers out of a job that long has risen by 50% in the last two years. Another four million workers are underemployed - those working in part-time or temporary jobs as they continue to look for a full-time position. Other unwelcome job market stats include an average of one job posting per unemployed worker, down from two in 2022, and wage growth that shrank from 6% to 4% year-over-year in November 2024. Healthcare and hospitality industries are still experiencing strong hiring, while office jobs in technology, media, and legal services have been hit with layoffs as employers cut costs.

Industry Revenue

Employment Services


Industry Structure

Industry size & Structure

A typical employment services firm has about 121 employees and annual revenues of $19 million.

    • The overall industry consists of about 30,000 firms and generates around $575 billion in annual revenue.
    • 56% of firms have less than 10 employees.
    • The top 4 firms account for over 25% of industry revenue. The largest employment services firms include Adecco, Kelly Services, Manpower, Spherion, and Kforce.
    • Workers average 34.6 hours per week, comparable to permanent employees.
    • Services are provided to customers in all employment segments: Manufacturing, services, and government.
    • With limited capital costs associated with start-up, there is little barrier to entry into this field.

                            Industry Forecast

                            Industry Forecast
                            Employment Services Industry Growth
                            Source: Vertical IQ and Inforum

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