In partnership with Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA), new IT Staffing Indicator provides real-time visibility into technology labor market as IT hiring remains critical economic driver
Bullhorn, the global leader in software for the staffing and recruitment industry, today announced the launch of the IT Staffing Indicator, a dedicated IT staffing segment within the SIA | Bullhorn Staffing Indicator.
Launched in partnership with Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) in 2021, the SIA | Bullhorn Staffing Indicator is a weekly index that tracks hours worked for more than 150,000 workers employed by hundreds of staffing firms using Bullhorn’s technology across a range of industries, occupations, and regions nationwide.
As the largest occupational category in the overall Indicator, the IT Staffing Indicator represents a statistically significant portion of the overall IT contingent labor market. It tracks weekly hours worked by temporary and contract tech workers, from software developers and cybersecurity specialists to AI engineers and cloud architects, and captures technology talent demand across every industry, from financial services and technology to consumer goods and manufacturing. By reporting data weekly for the week that ended 10 days prior, it provides one of the most comprehensive real-time views of U.S. staffing activity.
IT staffing as a critical economic indicator
“We’re seeing shifts in the labor market show up in our data months before they appear in government reports,” said Art Papas, founder and CEO of Bullhorn. “The IT Staffing Indicator is particularly revealing because technology hiring is a bet on the future, not a response to current needs. When companies bring on cloud architects or AI engineers, they’re investing in capabilities that won’t pay off for 6-12 months, which means IT contract hours are essentially measuring business confidence for what’s coming next.”
The technology sector has consistently served as a bellwether for broader economic trends, with IT hiring patterns often signaling shifts in business investment and innovation priorities ahead of other sectors. As companies across all industries continue their digital transformation efforts, demand for technology talent has become a key indicator of business confidence and growth expectations.
“The SIA | Bullhorn IT Staffing Indicator reflects the growing need for more precise, timely insight into how technology talent demand is evolving,” said Ursula Williams, president of SIA. “By isolating IT staffing hours and tracking them over a longer historical period, this new indicator gives staffing and solutions firms, enterprise hiring managers as well as investors a clearer view of real-time market dynamics. And this comes at a time when digital transformation, AI adoption and worker preferences continue to reshape the workforce.”
To explore the new IT Staffing Indicator, click here, and for more labor market trends and data, visit Bullhorn Insights.
