About half of technology products for staffing firms take less than a month to implement, while another quarter take one to two months. Meanwhile, staffing firms can expect their tech installation will deliver return on investment in less than a month for a quarter of the products, while about half will take one to five; the remaining quarter of products take six months or more.
Source: Global Staffing Technology Supplier Survey 2023
Layoffs’ Upside
SIA estimates the global outplacement market reached $2.0 billion in 2022 and forecasts it to grow 18% in 2023 to surpass prepandemic levels. Driving this growth, starting in 2022 and continuing into 2023, is the return of layoffs. The tech industry increased its layoffs by 649% in 2022 — the year had more tech layoffs than in 2020 and 2021 combined.
Source: Outplacement Landscape 2023
Margin Trends
Commercial staffing firms achieved a record gross margin level of 17.5% in 2020, according to SIA research. They fell to 15.9% in 2021, reflecting labor shortages and pay growth, then recovered to 16.4% in 2022. From 2014 through 2021, professional gross margins remained within roughly 50 basis points of 25% but declined by 92 basis points in 2022 to 24.1% due to wage pressures.
Source: Gross Margin and Bill Rate Trends: August 2023 Update
