Bullhorn, the global leader in recruiting software, today announced the release of its annual North American Staffing and Recruiting Trends Report, “A Numbers Game,” which found 77% of staffing firms met or exceeded their goals for 2013, compared to 73% in 2012. The report also found that 88% of respondents think their firm’s revenue performance will increase in 2014, but this is down from 92% in 2013 and 96% in 2012.

Based on a survey of more than 1,300 recruiting agency professionals and comprised of performance benchmarks, metrics, and real revenue and salary figures, “A Numbers Game” analyzes industry insights by firm size, recruitment type, title, and more. Download the full report for free here.

2013 was by almost all accounts a very good year for the staffing and recruiting industry. Overall reveue as well as total number of placements – the most important metric for firms across the board – increased over the past year. However, there are signs of a slowdown for 2014. Agencies are more conservative about their growth plans, and some firms are overly reliant on a single large client for revenue.

Key findings:

• Growth in investment is slowing: only 23% of respondents’ firms plan to launch new offices in 2014, compared to 48% last year.
• Salespeople and account managers made considerably more money than recruiters in 2013 (see report for actual figures).
• For the third year in a row, total number of placements was the most important metric for recruiting agencies.
• 72% of respondents generate 50% or more of their revenue from repeat client business.
• 22% of respondents reported that 50% or more of their revenue comes from their largest client.
• The average time-to-fill in 2013 was 6 days for temp, 8 days for contract, and 32 days for perm.
• 71% of respondents admit to having a shortage of skilled candidates in their respective sectors for 2014 versus 76% for 2013.
• The most successful source of qualified candidates for 2013 was existing candidates from respondents’ applicant tracking systems, followed by referrals and social media.
• For the second year in a row, survey respondents identified a lack of skilled candidates as their greatest challenge and social media as their greatest opportunity.

Links for More Information:

• Download the full report for free: http://pages.bullhorn.com/EB140218_TrendsReportNA.html?LS=Public_Relations

About Bullhorn
Bullhorn creates software and services that help recruiters put the world to work. For fourteen years our innovations have powered the recruiting and staffing operations of fast-growing start-ups up through the world’s largest employment brands. Headquartered in Boston, with offices in St. Louis, Richmond, Vancouver, London, and Sydney, Bullhorn’s applicant tracking system, recruiting CRM, back office, and social recruiting products serve more than 10,000 clients representing nearly 300,000 users across 150 countries.