Contract or Temporary Staffing Services Market Size, Share, Growth, and Industry Analysis, By Type (Contractor & Temporary Worker), By Application (Veterans, Freelancers, Temporarily Unemployed & Others), and Regional Forecast to 2035

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CONTRACT OR TEMPORARY STAFFING SERVICES MARKET OVERVIEW

The global Contract or Temporary Staffing Services Market is set to rise from USD 480.15 Billion in 2025 to USD 512.32 Billion in 2026, on track to hit USD 888.02 Billion by 2035, growing at a CAGR of 6.7% between 2025 and 2035.

These services give companies the ability to hire skilled professionals on a flexible basis. Benefits of these services include cost-effectiveness, as they eliminate the overhead and cost of employing a full-time employee as well as all the associated benefits. This also enables businesses to easily get access to the larger pool of talent to quickly fill these critical roles and meet changing demand. In addition, the temporary staffing agencies also handle everything from the administrative side of hiring, including recruitment, screening, onboarding, and payroll processing, giving the internal resources to core business activities.

KEY FINDINGS

COVID-19 IMPACT

Contract or Temporary Staffing Services Industry Had a Positive Effect to Adjust to Evolving Market Conditions

The global COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented and staggering, with the market experiencing higher-than-anticipated demand across all regions compared to pre-pandemic levels. The sudden market growth reflected by the rise in CAGR is attributable to the market’s growth and demand returning to pre-pandemic levels.

An unexpected increase in this market was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Unprecedented changes in demand, the lack of supply, and the demand for moving faster or even more quickly were forces for businesses to contend with. This was a crucial solution for contract staffing, which helped companies by providing a fast solution to scale their workforce up or down as per the company’s fluctuating needs. This agility was critical to businesses that were traversing variables of the pandemic, to adjust to evolving market conditions and keep operations going. Also, the pandemic pushed forward the adoption of remote work, bringing even more pressure on the need for flexible staffing options.

LATEST TRENDS

Gig Economy to Propel the Market Growth

Several key current trends are leading to a major transformation in this market. The surging popularity of the gig economy and acceptance of contingent work are just the drivers of flexible staffing solutions demand. The second one is technological advancement, for example, AI-powered recruitment platforms and talent sourcing technologies, which are helping companies to streamline the process, widen reach to the talent, and increase efficiency. Secondly, the remote work trend is enabling the geographic spread of the talent pool; businesses are able to create a pool of specialised skills from a global workforce. Finally, businesses in the technology and healthcare sectors are driving demand for highly skilled and specialised contract workers to occupy critical roles in order to innovate.

• According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), over 3.1 million workers were employed through temporary help services in the U.S. as of 2024, accounting for approximately 2% of the total nonfarm employment. This reflects a shift among companies toward flexible staffing to address seasonal and project-based demands.

• According to the World Employment Confederation (WEC), more than 55% of staffing firms globally adopted AI-based digital platforms for recruitment and workforce management in 2023, compared to 38% in 2020. These platforms have reduced candidate sourcing time by nearly 30%, improving overall placement efficiency.

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CONTRACT OR TEMPORARY STAFFING SERVICES MARKET SEGMENTATION

By Type

Based on Type, the global market can be categorized into Contractor & Temporary Worker

• Contractor: Self-employed individuals who offer their services in exchange for payment by a number of clients on the basis of a contract. Just like independent workers, either focusing on creative or skilled tasks (i.e., writing, design, software development). Professionals who are very highly skilled expect advice or guidance to businesses on a particular project or issue.

• Temporary Worker: They are hired for a specific duration to fulfil temporary/seasonal needs (example—a shorter duration role than the average, for instance, supporting leaves of absence/temporary work, covering for a short leave, etc.). Available for some flexibility of hours and potentially on an as-needed type of basis. Being on a temporary basis with a chance to become a permanent employee.

By Application

Based on application, the global market can be categorized into Veterans, Freelancers, Temporarily Unemployed & Others

• Veterans: Paves the way for veterans to use their skills and experience for the people and the civilian workforce. It provides the business flexibility to employ workers on a more part-time basis due to frequent relocations and career interruptions. Members include professionals who connect veterans with disabilities with suitable employment opportunities that correspond to their capabilities.

• Freelancers: Allows access to freelance platforms and connects freelancers with potential clients. It matches freelancers with the right skills to projects and companies that need their provider of expertise. It has resources that include earmarks like professional development, insurance plans, and money guidance, among others.

• Temporarily Unemployed: It will provide temporary work opportunities for them while they are out of work, keeping them at least moderately occupied and helping them get experience. Provides training and upskilling programs in order to increase the employability of temporarily unemployed individuals. Antia provides supportive and guiding advice to enable people to change careers and find their next job.

MARKET DYNAMICS

Market dynamics include driving and restraining factors, opportunities and challenges stating the market conditions.

Driving Factors

Growing Need for specialisation to Expand the Market

A factor in the Contract or Temporary Staffing Services market growth is the Growing Need for specialisation. Specialised skills are required and in demand in all industries, such as technology and healthcare, as well as finance. Firms can quickly fill critical roles and address project needs by contracting for access to their flexible pool of highly skilled professionals with niche expertise.

• According to the European Commission’s Employment and Social Innovation Program (EaSI), over €750 million has been allocated since 2021 to promote flexible and temporary employment structures across EU member states. This initiative has directly supported over 450,000 workers through contractual job placements.

• According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), 69% of global employers report difficulty in finding skilled labor, especially in healthcare, logistics, and IT. As a result, organizations are turning to staffing agencies to bridge short-term workforce gaps and maintain operational continuity.

Gig Economy and Flexible Work Arrangements to Advance the Market

The rise of the gig economy and higher acceptance of flexible work arrangements has changed this market drastically. At the same time, more people are looking for flexible employment options, and businesses are trying more and more to cut down on their costs by utilising contingent workforces to meet changing market demands and to become more nimble and agile.

Restraining Factor

Work Classification to Pose Potential Impediments on this Market

An important obstacle to the growth of the Contract or Temporary Staffing Services Market share is the growing emphasis on work classification by independent contractors or employees. These two categories are distinct from one another from a legal and, for that reason, also financial standpoint. There are significant tax responsibilities, benefits eligibility, and employers liable. Misclassification can cost money in terms of costly penalties, expensive lawsuits, and damage to the company’s reputation. Yet, as governments and courts further refine the criteria for worker classification, businesses have more work and uncertainty, perhaps spreading further apart and reducing their usage of contract staff. The development of this regulatory landscape requires businesses to analyse their workforce models, be compliant with the relevant laws, and consider the adjustments to their engagement strategy, considering the risks related to worker classification.

• According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), around 45% of OECD countries introduced new compliance or worker-protection regulations for temporary contracts between 2021–2023, increasing administrative costs for staffing firms by an average of 12–15%.

• According to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), turnover rates among temporary employees are approximately 3.2 times higher than full-time workers. Short tenure and lack of long-term benefits discourage consistent workforce participation in temporary jobs.

Workforce Agility and Adaptability to Create Opportunity in this Market

Opportunity

The main opportunity factor in this market is the growing emphasis on workforce agility and adaptability. In the current era of the rapidly changing business environment, firms ought to be able to speedily respond to altering marketplace circumstances, new technological inventions, and unbelievable chaos. With contract staffing, businesses are provided with a highly flexible type of solution, which can be scaled up or down according to the needs of the business at any given point, can also adjust to fluctuations in demand, and can have access to the specialised skills for only short periods. This agility becomes essential to businesses’ daily operations, driving them to be at the forefront of being competitive, companies to innovate, ultimately ensuring the survival of businesses in a constantly changing environment. With the pace of change accelerating, flexible workforce solutions such as contract staffing are likely to be in high demand, which offers great opportunities to a staffing agency as well as the business.

• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), global healthcare systems require an additional 10 million skilled workers by 2030. Staffing firms are expected to play a crucial role in providing contractual nurses, technicians, and support staff for short-term healthcare assignments.

• According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the number of remote workers globally rose to 1.6 billion in 2023, up 35% from 2019. This trend opens new opportunities for staffing agencies to provide specialized, location-independent workforce solutions.

Commoditisation of Services to Pose Potential Challenge for this Market

Challenge

In this market, one observes increasing competition and commoditisation of services as one of the biggest challenging factors. Without greatly differentiating yourself, however, it’s very difficult to compete in a market where there are a plethora of staffing agencies looking for the same clients and the same talent pools. Pricing pressure and risk of price wars are emptying profit margins from the market, which is becoming increasingly commoditised. To continuously innovate and differentiate in the staffing space, staffing agencies must have value-added services like specialised recruitment expertise, a robust technology platform, superior client services, and a stronger focus on developing long-lasting relationships with the client and the talent.

• According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), temporary workers earn on average 22% less than permanent employees performing similar roles. This income disparity creates dissatisfaction and limits the attractiveness of temporary employment models.

• According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), 44% of workers globally will require upskilling or reskilling by 2027 to meet digital transformation needs. Staffing agencies face the challenge of training candidates to meet industry-specific technology requirements.

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CONTRACT OR TEMPORARY STAFFING SERVICES MARKET REGIONAL INSIGHTS

• North America

The contract staffing industry is a heavily driven business for the global market, specifically in the North American market. The market has a mature market development, well-established players, and a high demand for flexible workforce solutions across different sectors. That the region adopted well the contingent workforce models had to do with the fact that the region has experienced high adoption of these modes due to the economic fluctuations, rapid technological advancements, and increased requirements of certain specialised skills. With its economy, which is so varied and its labour pool so large, the United States Contract or Temporary Staffing Services Market plays a key part in industry trendsetting and innovations.

• Europe

The European market for contract staffing is a diverse one, with different countries having different regulatory landscapes that may be both challenging and opportunistic. Employee rights and social protections are strong in the region, affecting the type of contract work and the standards that govern it. However, the European market is a large part of the global industry, and there is an increasing need for flexible workforce solutions across various industries, including technology, healthcare, and finance. In addition to this, the gig economy and an uptake in new technology are changing the way contract work is seen in the region.

• Asia

The large contract staffing market is experiencing rapid growth in the Asia Pacific region with factors such as economic expansion, urbanisation, and the development of a burgeoning middle class. The dynamic range of market dynamics related to the region is diverse in terms of the degree of maturity in each country and the regulatory framework for the region. It was driven by large, growing economies for India and China in the region and the demand for flexible workforce solutions. In addition, there’s a growth in the gig economy and the use of new technologies, which are making work increasingly different and the way work is being done by offering new opportunities to businesses and workers.

KEY INDUSTRY PLAYERS

Key Industry Players Shaping the Market through Innovative Solutions

Innovative solutions, market dominance, and industry expertise are key influencers of the contract staffing market, as many industrial players significantly impact the market through their presence. Adecco, Randstad, and ManpowerGroup, which employ large staffing companies with extensive global networks, huge technology infrastructure, and know-how about the industry. These investors set the trends in the market with their investments in technology, their introduction of new service offerings, and their role in shaping the industry's best practices. In addition, they also aid in shaping how contract work is perceived and deciding how to make contract work a part of deciding one’s career. Additionally, these players in the competitive landscape shape the way innovation is taking place and press the industry to higher levels of service and compliance.

• Randstad N.V.: According to the World Employment Confederation (WEC), Randstad placed over 650,000 temporary workers daily across 39 countries in 2023, supported by its digital workforce management solutions and skill development programs.

• Kelly Services Inc.: According to the American Staffing Association (ASA), Kelly Services connected nearly 440,000 employees with temporary and project-based roles in 2023, emphasizing STEM and administrative job categories.

List of Top Contract Or Temporary Staffing Services Companies

• Randstad (Netherlands)
• Kelly Services (U.S.)
• Adecco (Switzerland)
• Hays (U.K.)
• Allegis Group (U.S.)

KEY INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS

2024: In 2024, Manpower Group launched a new digital platform called “Experis Academy,” which offers upskilling and reskilling programs to contract workers located in the areas of high demand, such as technology and digital skills.

REPORT COVERAGE

The study encompasses a comprehensive SWOT analysis and provides insights into future developments within the market. It examines various factors that contribute to the growth of the market, exploring a wide range of market categories and potential applications that may impact its trajectory in the coming years. The analysis takes into account both current trends and historical turning points, providing a holistic understanding of the market's components and identifying potential areas for growth.

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