Staffing Industry Trends – April 2026

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Staffing Trends to Watch This Spring

Staffing activity in 2026 reflects a measured but consistent rebound. Employers are leaning into contract staffing to stay flexible, while layoffs remain markedly lower than last year despite month‑to‑month shifts.

Understanding the current market can help staffing agency owners better advise clients, position flexible workforce solutions, and identify emerging opportunities. 

👉 Get the insights you need to guide clients and grow strategically.

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“Quality candidates” isn’t a differentiator, it’s a commodity confession

“Quality candidates” has long been the cornerstone of every staffing agency’s pitch, but according to this perspective from TerraFirma Marketing, it may actually be one of the industry’s biggest blind spots.

Agencies that clearly articulate how they create value beyond talent are better positioned to differentiate for growth. It challenges staffing leaders to rethink how they position their firms and to prioritize what clients value most today, including insight, specialization, and strategic partnership.

As Kim Henderson, from Cobalt Compass, has previously shared in a webinar on differentiation, agencies that clearly define how they create value beyond talent are the ones best positioned to grow in a crowded market.

👉 Read more on one of staffing’s common messages

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Better Together: Why Coopetition Fuels Smarter Growth

Coopetition offers staffing firms a smarter path to growth by collaborating with competitors in focused, strategic ways while still competing where it counts. By working together to serve clients more completely, strengthen niche expertise, and elevate the industry, firms can expand reach without overextending resources. Often overlooked, collaboration may be one of the most effective strategies for sustainable, differentiated growth.

👉 Read more

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2026 MNRSA Symposium Recap

Great connecting with staffing agency owners and partners at the 2026 Annual MNRSA Symposium. Here are a few top takeaways. 

Mark Winter – WinSource Group with 20 years of staffing industry sales leadership, shared how the buying process has changed, and your sales process must be in sync; it must match the buying process. Mark recommends reframing your questions and discussion to talk about how you can help your clients SUCCEED instead of asking them about their pain points or what’s not working.  

Mauricio Montes de Oca enlightened us with his 5 key leadership qualities: one being Humility.   Successful leaders balance strength and confidence with humility.  How you share knowledge, demonstrate resourcefulness, and guide your team must exemplify this balance. 

We received a Legislative update from Hill Capitol Strategies providing us with an update of what’s going on at the Minnesota Capitol.   Over the years, Todd and his team have positively impacted MNRSA and its members by advocating for the staffing industry as it relates to emerging and complex public policy issues. 

A session of roundtable discussions allowed the attendees to rotate tables and share best practices with each other. Scale Funding and Avionte led a discussion about Current Accounts vs Net New Accounts.    We discussed ideas about balancing time between current accounts and new, determining if your current accounts are healthy accounts, and successful strategies for winning new accounts.  This event was a great example of “Coopetition” between MNRSA members as participants shared and learned from each other. 

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