Following the near record highs posted in 2019, full-year 2020 data released today by the American Staffing Association show how the coronavirus pandemic challenged providers of workforce solutions, with temporary and contract staffing jobs falling to Great Recession levels in the second quarter yet rebounding in the second half of the year.

Staffing employment plummeted by 33.6%—more than one million jobs—year-to-year in the second quarter of 2020, as the nation was shut down by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Despite the pandemic, staffing companies hired a total of 13.6 million temporary and contract employees during all of 2020, with an average length of employment with a staffing agency at 9.6 weeks.

“While the pandemic took its toll on the economy in 2020, many staffing companies are reporting continued increases in demand for temporary and contract workers in the first quarter of 2021,” said Richard Wahlquist, ASA president and chief executive officer. “Workplace disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has put an even higher premium on the need for more flexible and inclusive workforce solutions.”