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In an otherwise frozen job market, employers’ desire for temporary workers appears to be heating up.
The number of workers in temp staffing positions has ticked higher this year, moving away from the declines seen over much of 2025. The Federal Reserve even noted the trend in its most recent Beige Book, saying that several of its regional banks had reported “increased demand for temporary or contract workers, as firms remained cautious about committing to permanent hires.”
Put simply, bosses still need workers right now — but in an economy defined by uncertainty, they’re more reluctant to bet on full-timers.
Bullhorn, a software provider for the staffing and recruitment industry, tracked a 9% jump in temporary worker placements between February and March — ”significantly higher than what we’ve seen on the perm side,” and up 5.4% from a year ago, according to Lia Taniguchi, Bullhorn’s research and insights director. In the first quarter of this year, temporary hours were up, particularly for light industrial workers in manufacturing and warehousing, she added.
“Hiring organizations are way more comfortable right now putting in temporary resources, and that shows in all of our data,” Taniguchi told Yahoo Finance. “We think that’s going to be true going forward as well.”
Not only do temporary and contract workers provide more flexibility for employers adjusting to economic whiplash and constantly changing business needs, but they also provide wiggle room for bosses who don’t know how AI will reshape their labor needs, Taniguchi noted. All of this could make temporary workers particularly appealing to hiring managers.
“Employers don’t really know in 18 months how many people they’ll need, because they don’t know how AI may change their workforce needs, but they also don’t even know exactly what skillsets they’re going to need in two years,” Taniguchi said.
The American Staffing Association’s data, meanwhile, suggests that staffing employment has been growing since September.
“The sectors that are outperforming the general trend tend to be those that either have significant personnel shortages that employers are trying to backfill, or that are highly specialized,” including healthcare and professional services, said Noah Yosif, the association’s chief economist.
In March, government data showed that employment in temporary help services rose by 4,400 workers from the month prior, employing about 2.47 million people overall. While that level is down significantly from the 3.2 million temp workers notched in March 2022, it was nonetheless the highest number seen since last August.
