{ "slug": "staffing", "label": "Staffing & Recruiting", "publisher": "Level", "publisher_url": "https://levelcfo.com", "dataset": "The Level Index, Staffing & Recruiting benchmarks", "methodology": "Aggregated from public industry and government sources plus the Level founding team's contractor analysis. Percentile distributions where available, otherwise category anchors. No individual company is identified.", "sources": [ "Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA), U.S. forecast updates 2024-2025", "American Staffing Association (ASA), quarterly industry statistics", "Bullhorn GRID, 2026 Industry Trends Report (time-to-fill distributions)", "Hunt Scanlon / Recruiterflow, recruiter productivity benchmarks", "BLS Current Employment Statistics, temp help services (CES6056132001)", "Public staffing 10-Ks: Robert Half (RHI), Kforce (KFRC), ASGN, TrueBlue (TBI), Kelly (KELYA)", "Level Index, the founding team's analysis of 2,200+ contractors ($13.25B revenue) across operating, private-equity, and CFO roles, extended with staffing operator observations" ], "last_updated": "2026-Q3", "metrics": [ { "key": "time_to_fill_bullhorn_grid_2026", "label": "Time-to-Fill (Bullhorn GRID 2026)", "unit": "d", "lower_is_better": true, "categories": [ { "name": "Top 22% (<3d)", "value": 3 }, { "name": "Top 56% (<10d)", "value": 10 }, { "name": "Median (~15d)", "value": 15 }, { "name": "Revenue Losers (10-19d)", "value": 19 }, { "name": "Bottom (>30d)", "value": 35 } ], "sample": "Bullhorn GRID 2026 (n: thousands of staffing firms)", "source": "Bullhorn GRID 2026 Industry Trends" }, { "key": "gross_margin_by_segment_fy2024", "label": "Gross Margin by Segment (FY2024)", "unit": "%", "lower_is_better": false, "categories": [ { "name": "Healthcare", "value": 21 }, { "name": "Light Industrial (TBI)", "value": 25.9 }, { "name": "IT (Kforce)", "value": 26.5 }, { "name": "Engineering", "value": 33 }, { "name": "Finance & Acct (Kforce)", "value": 38.5 } ], "sample": "Kforce, TrueBlue 10-Ks + Staffing Hub 2024 survey", "source": "Kforce, TrueBlue, Kelly 10-Ks + Staffing Hub 2024" }, { "key": "days_sales_outstanding_dso", "label": "Days Sales Outstanding (DSO)", "unit": "d", "lower_is_better": true, "categories": [ { "name": "Strong", "value": 30 }, { "name": "Healthy", "value": 40 }, { "name": "RHI implied (FY24)", "value": 49 }, { "name": "Healthcare Avg", "value": 55 }, { "name": "At-Risk", "value": 65 } ], "sample": "Robert Half FY2024 10-K + industry guidance", "source": "Robert Half FY2024 10-K (AR $772M ÷ Revenue $5.8B × 365)" }, { "key": "kforce_fy2024_gross_margin_to_net_margin_of_revenue", "label": "Kforce FY2024: gross margin to net margin (% of revenue)", "unit": "%", "lower_is_better": false, "categories": [ { "name": "Gross profit", "value": 27 }, { "name": "After SG&A (op. income)", "value": 5 }, { "name": "Net income", "value": 3.6 } ], "sample": "Kforce FY2024 10-K (SEC EDGAR CIK 930420, results as % of revenue)", "source": "Kforce FY2024 10-K (SEC EDGAR CIK 930420); corroborated by Robert Half FY2024 (op 4.2%, net 4.3%)" }, { "key": "annual_gross_profit_per_producer_recruiter", "label": "Annual Gross Profit per Producer / Recruiter", "unit": "K", "lower_is_better": false, "percentiles": { "median": 250, "p90": 500 }, "sample": "Illustrative range; derivable from public 10-Ks (gross profit / producer headcount) and the Level founding team's staffing analysis", "source": "the Level founding team's staffing analysis; public staffing 10-Ks (GP per producer, derivable)" }, { "key": "markup_vs_gross_margin", "label": "Markup % vs. Gross Margin %", "unit": "%", "lower_is_better": false, "categories": [ { "name": "Low Markup", "value": 25 }, { "name": "Industrial Median", "value": 35 }, { "name": "Pro Services Median", "value": 50 }, { "name": "Premium / Niche", "value": 65 }, { "name": "High Skill", "value": 75 } ], "sample": "Typical markup ranges by segment (SIA-cited); illustrative, not a published distribution", "source": "SIA-cited segment markup ranges; formula is arithmetic" }, { "key": "workers_comp_cost_as_of_payroll_light_industrial_by_risk_tier", "label": "Workers Comp Cost as % of Payroll (light industrial, by risk tier)", "unit": "%", "lower_is_better": true, "percentiles": { "median": 8 }, "sample": "Illustrative range; NCCI class-code loss costs vary by state and experience mod (EMR)", "source": "TrueBlue FY2024 10-K (SEC EDGAR); NCCI class-code loss costs" } ], "benchmark_table": [ { "metric": "Gross Margin (IT)", "bottom_quartile": "< 22%", "median": "26-28%", "top_quartile": "> 32%", "note": "Kforce FY2024: 26.5% Tech, 38.5% F&A" }, { "metric": "Gross Margin (Healthcare)", "bottom_quartile": "< 18%", "median": "21-24%", "top_quartile": "> 27%", "note": "Compressed 2022-2024 as travel nurse rates fell" }, { "metric": "Gross Margin (Light Industrial)", "bottom_quartile": "< 22%", "median": "25-28%", "top_quartile": "> 30%", "note": "TBI FY2024 ~25.9%" }, { "metric": "EBITDA Margin", "bottom_quartile": "< 4%", "median": "7-10%", "top_quartile": "> 12%", "note": "ASGN FY2024: 11.0% adj EBITDA" }, { "metric": "Operating Margin", "bottom_quartile": "< 3%", "median": "4-5%", "top_quartile": "> 7%", "note": "Kforce FY2024 5.0%, Robert Half 4.2% (SEC 10-Ks)" }, { "metric": "Net Profit Margin", "bottom_quartile": "negative in a down year", "median": "3-4%", "top_quartile": "> 5%", "note": "Kforce FY2024 3.6%, Cross Country swung 3.6% to -1.1% year over year (SEC 10-Ks)" }, { "metric": "DSO", "bottom_quartile": "> 65 days", "median": "45-55 days", "top_quartile": "< 35 days", "note": "RHI implied ~49d at scale" }, { "metric": "Working-Capital per $1M New Temp Revenue", "bottom_quartile": "> $150K", "median": "$100-125K", "top_quartile": "< $90K", "note": "Weekly payroll (DPO ~7d) vs 45-55d DSO = 40-50 day cash gap to fund" }, { "metric": "Time-to-Fill", "bottom_quartile": "> 30 days", "median": "15-20 days", "top_quartile": "< 10 days", "note": "Bullhorn GRID 2026: 56% of top firms < 10d" }, { "metric": "GP per Producer (annual)", "bottom_quartile": "< $200K", "median": "$300K", "top_quartile": "> $400K", "note": "Directional; the Level founding team's staffing analysis + derivable from public 10-Ks (GP / producer headcount)" }, { "metric": "Recruiter Turnover (annual)", "bottom_quartile": "> 40%", "median": "~25%", "top_quartile": "< 20%", "note": "ASA/Bullhorn industry research puts median internal-staff turnover around 25%, with wide variance. (The often-cited 400%+ figure is placed temp workers, not internal recruiters.)" }, { "metric": "Top 5 Client Concentration", "bottom_quartile": "> 60%", "median": "30-40%", "top_quartile": "< 20%", "note": "MSP/VMS programs concentrate fast" }, { "metric": "Client NPS (ClearlyRated)", "bottom_quartile": "< 25", "median": "45", "top_quartile": "> 60", "note": "Industry NPS hit 45 in 2024" } ] }