Each year, we track our contract placement data to determine the top industries for contract staffing. As contract employment broke records in 2013, our placement statistics show that contract staffing was especially strong in the following industries:

1. Healthcare- 31%
2. Business Professionals/Support Staff – 20%
3. Engineering/Manufacturing – 15%
4. Information Technology – 13%
5. Finance/Accounting – 12%
6. Legal/HR/Recruiting – 7%
7. Sales/Marketing – 2%

Behind those numbers, some interesting trends are emerging. For example, the healthcare percentage not only represents traditional healthcare placements but also crossovers into Engineering and Information Technology with placements in Biomedical and Health IT.  

Manufacturing/Engineering has been a big story in the economic recovery as manufacturers begin to bring previously off-shored work back to the United States in a trend known as on-shoring. They are clamoring for highly skilled workers to fill these on-shored positions. 

Information Technology (IT) continues to grow, driven in large part by the proliferation of mobile devices.  This is another area where the demand for highly skilled talent is high.  In both Manufacturing/Engineering and IT, positions are often filled with contractors due to the nature of the work.

All indications point to continued growth in contract staffing and in these top industries. Recruiters who offer contract staffing services stand to benefit from this trend in 2014 and beyond.