Canadian staffing market to grow 2%
The Canadian staffing market is forecast to growth 2% this year to C$9.3 billion, according to a new report by Staffing Industry Analysts. It contracted by just under 1% in 2025 with the decline centered in the place-and-search segment.
SIA forecasts place-and-search revenue to reverse course this year and rise 14% to approximately C$400,000. It declined by 20% in 2025 and 10% in 2024.
Temporary staffing, which represents the lion’s share of revenue, is expected to rise 1% this year to approximately C$9.0 billion. It rose 1% last year as well after declining 10% in 2024.
“A fair extent of the overall revenue growth is inflation “A fair extent of the overall revenue growth is inflation-sustaining wage growth, leading to bill rate growth,” SIA Economist Michael Schultz said. “Overall, though, clients are not accepting full passthrough of wages to bill rates, so margin pressures continue.”
Place and search should see a benefit if Canada-US trade talks resolve, Schultz said, though this anticipates a review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement concludes in the third quarter and no new frictions arise.
“Failure to conclude the [USMCA] review in a positive manner is a downside risk, particularly for place and search,” he said. “The growing global economic fallout of the US-Iran war is another major downside risk.”
Increased disruption such as from the war — while negatively affecting global and national economics — could result in increased activity for engineering and other types of staffing that serve the energy industry, according to the report.
The five largest staffing firms in Canada, by revenue, are Allegis Group, the Adecco Group, Randstad, Tundra Technical Solutions and ManpowerGroup.
The full report, Largest Staffing Firms in Canada and Market Outlook Report 2026, produced by SIA Economist Michael Schultz, is available online to corporate and CWS Council members of SIA.
Written By Craig Johnson
