Forbes (05/10/12) Mary Ellen Biery

Privately owned temporary help services and job placement companies are seeing strong sales growth, and net profit margins have recovered to pre-recession levels, according to a recent financial statement analysis by Sageworks Inc. Employment services firms have enjoyed nearly 21% sales growth over the past year, following 21% to 22% increases in both 2010 and 2011. Net profit margins, meanwhile, have more than doubled from 2009, with margins topping 5% over the last 12 months, compared with about 4% in 2006 and 2007.

Sageworks analyst Robb Granado says the strong growth in employment services sales is not surprising, considering firms will often use placement firms to hire temporary help if they want a hedge on the investment of a permanent worker, or if they need stop-gap help until they can find qualified permanent help.