We don’t need to tell you that 2020 was a tough year for staffing. The industry as a whole was down approximately 11 percent for the year. In 2021 the industry has reversed course and is currently at 16 percent growth overall, with some segments greatly exceeding this mark.

Will this trend continue for 2022?

Julie Ann Bittner, TRICOM President & CEO, spoke with Adrianne Nelson, Staffing Industry Analysts Senior Director of Global Membership Products, in this month’s Insights With Insiders podcast to discuss the research and trends propelling the staffing industry into the next year.

Adrianne reveals staffing segments that are growth drivers, as well as those struggling to make a comeback and suggestions on breaking into new segments. Adrianne and Julie Ann also look at how automation and staffing platforms are transforming the industry, as well as lessons learned from COVID including trends in remote work and e-commerce, and vaccine mandates.

You’ll want to listen to the podcast for the full details, but in the meantime, we’ve outlined some key points.

Adrianne Nelson is a staffing industry veteran with a passion for delivery, strategy and membership care for workforce solutions clients of all sizes. She is a reputed speaker and writer for industry associations and publications. Needless to say, when she speaks about industry trends and forecasts, staffing professionals are quick to listen.

That’s why we were so pleased to have her as a guest on our recent podcast. The past year and half have brought a lot of change and turmoil to our industry, and Adrianne’s insight into the numbers and trends is invaluable.

Currently, the August SIA report shows that year over year staffing revenue grew at 26 percent from August of 2020 vs. August 2021. Some segments outpaced others:

                Travel Nurse – 85%
                Allied Health – 33%
                Office/Clerical – 21%
                Industrial Staffing – 29% in June
                Life Sciences – 21%
                IT – 19%

While healthcare in general saw tremendous growth, that was also combined with increases in nursing salaries, as well as turnover rates. SIA is forecasting Healthcare to continue to do well into 2022.

A note to those hoping to break into the healthcare segment if you’re not already there: credentialing is key, and can make it tricky for a staffing company entering this segment if they don’t have an experienced healthcare professional on staff.

Another area for growth in 2022? Education. Education has seen a 35 percent increase in growth this year, and that’s expected to continue, specifically for substitute teachers, aides, etc.

Adrianne also notes that Direct Hire is seeing tremendous growth. People searching for employment are less likely to accept a temp-to-permanent offer when a direct hire offer is an option.

Julie Ann and Adrianne also discussed some of main outcomes of the pandemic, including the role of automation. Automation in terms of the speed of hiring, mobile engagement, etc. has quickly become even more important to be at the forefront of both acquiring talent and sales. Changes that in the past would have taken years or even a decade to achieve, are being initiated and implemented in months.

Another shift in the industry is the prominence of remote work. Employees are looking for it (in some cases it’s even more important than salary and benefits), as it contributes to the importance of a work-life balance that employees are increasingly seeking. Staffing companies can not only use this as a benefit, but also expand their own temporary worker base.

This is just a small sample of the topics and research touched on during the podcast. Both Julie Ann and Adrianne agreed that staffing has always been innovative and responsive to change. Today is no different than other times when the industry became upended and responded by coming back even stronger. It’s for these reasons and more that these two industry veterans see a Golden Age of Opportunity on the horizon for the staffing industry.

Click here to view the full podcast.

Staffing Industry Analyst proprietary research is typically available only to SIA members. If you’re not currently an SIA member, visit staffingindustry.com for more information about the benefits of membership and to join.