Following a six-year low in staffing employment during the first quarter of 2020, second quarter data released today by ASA reveal the Covid-19 pandemic’s significant negative effect on providers of workforce solutions. U.S. staffing companies employed an average of 2.1 million temporary and contract workers per week in the second quarter of 2020—the lowest since the Great Recession.

Staffing employment decreased 33.6% in the second quarter of 2020 compared with the same period in 2019—a historic year-to-year decline. Staffing companies expect their third-quarter revenue to improve sequentially with a year-to-year decrease of 12% predicted for the quarter, and a 13% decrease for the full year.

“During the first two months of the third quarter, staffing companies reported gradual but steady improvements in demand across many sectors as the country pushes to recover and businesses begin increasing the size of their flexible and permanent workforces,” said Richard Wahlquist, ASA president and chief executive officer. “Barring a second wave of Covid-19-related shutdowns, those increases are expected to continue through the balance of the year.”