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Size of the US Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services industry

NAICS 56131, Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services. Every figure on this page was published by a federal statistical agency and carries its source and period. Palanor does not estimate: a period the agency didn’t publish shows as missing, and a figure it withheld shows as withheld.

Key figures

Receipts (sales, shipments or revenue)
$34.0 billion
2022 · Economic Census
All establishments, current dollars
Employment
283,315
2026-Q1 · Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
Private-sector jobs in the third month of each quarter
Establishments
36,648
2026-Q1 · Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
Private ownership
Firms
12,459
2022 · Economic Census
Annual payroll
$21.9 billion
2023 · County Business Patterns

Over time

Employment · Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesLatest 283,315 · 2026-Q1
2019-Q1: 283,3942019-Q2: 286,2582019-Q3: 291,8502019-Q4: 297,0292020-Q1: 268,8992020-Q2: 233,7452020-Q3: 257,3002020-Q4: 284,1822021-Q1: 276,7582021-Q2: 284,6392021-Q3: 306,9592021-Q4: 330,5242022-Q1: 321,6912022-Q2: 329,8732022-Q3: 336,2402022-Q4: 332,5522023-Q1: 314,0452023-Q2: 307,1472023-Q3: 307,8092023-Q4: 304,9662024-Q1: 284,8392024-Q2: 282,8202024-Q3: 289,2922024-Q4: 291,3432025-Q1: 288,8122025-Q2: 285,3522025-Q3: 297,2602025-Q4: 304,0692026-Q1: 283,315NAICS 2022 from 2022-Q1
Show the numbers
PeriodValueNAICS
2026-Q1283,3152022
2025-Q4304,0692022
2025-Q3297,2602022
2025-Q2285,3522022
2025-Q1288,8122022
2024-Q4291,3432022
2024-Q3289,2922022
2024-Q2282,8202022
2024-Q1284,8392022
2023-Q4304,9662022
2023-Q3307,8092022
2023-Q2307,1472022
2023-Q1314,0452022
2022-Q4332,5522022
2022-Q3336,2402022
2022-Q2329,8732022
2022-Q1321,6912022
2021-Q4330,5242017
2021-Q3306,9592017
2021-Q2284,6392017
2021-Q1276,7582017
2020-Q4284,1822017
2020-Q3257,3002017
2020-Q2233,7452017
2020-Q1268,8992017
2019-Q4297,0292017
2019-Q3291,8502017
2019-Q2286,2582017
2019-Q1283,3942017

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · Private-sector jobs in the third month of each quarter

Employment · County Business PatternsLatest 368,130 · 2023
2017: 237,8002018: 247,3482019: 253,3252020: 253,6512021: 249,0812022: 319,0092023: 368,130
Show the numbers
PeriodValue
2023368,130
2022319,009
2021249,081
2020253,651
2019253,325
2018247,348
2017237,800

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns · Paid employees in the pay period including March 12

Establishments · Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesLatest 36,648 · 2026-Q1
2019-Q1: 23,3462019-Q2: 23,7402019-Q3: 24,1042019-Q4: 24,5092020-Q1: 24,3952020-Q2: 24,8672020-Q3: 25,6272020-Q4: 26,3642021-Q1: 26,4192021-Q2: 27,5102021-Q3: 28,7162021-Q4: 29,8442022-Q1: 31,0982022-Q2: 32,2032022-Q3: 33,3612022-Q4: 34,2532023-Q1: 34,6322023-Q2: 35,1732023-Q3: 35,8332023-Q4: 36,3202024-Q1: 35,9252024-Q2: 36,4012024-Q3: 36,5792024-Q4: 36,7352025-Q1: 36,0272025-Q2: 36,1132025-Q3: 36,3812025-Q4: 36,6652026-Q1: 36,648NAICS 2022 from 2022-Q1
Show the numbers
PeriodValueNAICS
2026-Q136,6482022
2025-Q436,6652022
2025-Q336,3812022
2025-Q236,1132022
2025-Q136,0272022
2024-Q436,7352022
2024-Q336,5792022
2024-Q236,4012022
2024-Q135,9252022
2023-Q436,3202022
2023-Q335,8332022
2023-Q235,1732022
2023-Q134,6322022
2022-Q434,2532022
2022-Q333,3612022
2022-Q232,2032022
2022-Q131,0982022
2021-Q429,8442017
2021-Q328,7162017
2021-Q227,5102017
2021-Q126,4192017
2020-Q426,3642017
2020-Q325,6272017
2020-Q224,8672017
2020-Q124,3952017
2019-Q424,5092017
2019-Q324,1042017
2019-Q223,7402017
2019-Q123,3462017

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · Private ownership

Establishments · County Business PatternsLatest 13,576 · 2023
2017: 12,2012018: 12,2222019: 12,2222020: 12,0502021: 12,7072022: 13,2722023: 13,576
Show the numbers
PeriodValue
202313,576
202213,272
202112,707
202012,050
201912,222
201812,222
201712,201

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns

Total wages in the quarter · Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesLatest $5.9 billion · 2026-Q1
2019-Q1: $4.0 billion2019-Q2: $3.8 billion2019-Q3: $3.9 billion2019-Q4: $4.5 billion2020-Q1: $4.1 billion2020-Q2: $3.4 billion2020-Q3: $3.5 billion2020-Q4: $4.6 billion2021-Q1: $4.3 billion2021-Q2: $4.4 billion2021-Q3: $4.8 billion2021-Q4: $6.5 billion2022-Q1: $6.1 billion2022-Q2: $6.1 billion2022-Q3: $6.3 billion2022-Q4: $6.7 billion2023-Q1: $6.3 billion2023-Q2: $5.5 billion2023-Q3: $5.3 billion2023-Q4: $5.8 billion2024-Q1: $5.5 billion2024-Q2: $5.1 billion2024-Q3: $5.2 billion2024-Q4: $5.8 billion2025-Q1: $5.7 billion2025-Q2: $5.2 billion2025-Q3: $5.4 billion2025-Q4: $6.1 billion2026-Q1: $5.9 billionNAICS 2022 from 2022-Q1
Show the numbers
PeriodValueNAICS
2026-Q1$5.9 billion2022
2025-Q4$6.1 billion2022
2025-Q3$5.4 billion2022
2025-Q2$5.2 billion2022
2025-Q1$5.7 billion2022
2024-Q4$5.8 billion2022
2024-Q3$5.2 billion2022
2024-Q2$5.1 billion2022
2024-Q1$5.5 billion2022
2023-Q4$5.8 billion2022
2023-Q3$5.3 billion2022
2023-Q2$5.5 billion2022
2023-Q1$6.3 billion2022
2022-Q4$6.7 billion2022
2022-Q3$6.3 billion2022
2022-Q2$6.1 billion2022
2022-Q1$6.1 billion2022
2021-Q4$6.5 billion2017
2021-Q3$4.8 billion2017
2021-Q2$4.4 billion2017
2021-Q1$4.3 billion2017
2020-Q4$4.6 billion2017
2020-Q3$3.5 billion2017
2020-Q2$3.4 billion2017
2020-Q1$4.1 billion2017
2019-Q4$4.5 billion2017
2019-Q3$3.9 billion2017
2019-Q2$3.8 billion2017
2019-Q1$4.0 billion2017

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · Private ownership

Annual payroll · County Business PatternsLatest $21.9 billion · 2023
2017: $10.6 billion2018: $11.3 billion2019: $12.1 billion2020: $11.8 billion2021: $15.2 billion2022: $20.0 billion2023: $21.9 billion
Show the numbers
PeriodValue
2023$21.9 billion
2022$20.0 billion
2021$15.2 billion
2020$11.8 billion
2019$12.1 billion
2018$11.3 billion
2017$10.6 billion

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns

The ledger

Every published measure

MeasureSourceLatestPeriodHistory
EmploymentPrivate-sector jobs in the third month of each quarterQuarterly Census of Employment and Wages283,3152026-Q12019-Q1–2026-Q1 · 29 published
EstablishmentsPrivate ownershipQuarterly Census of Employment and Wages36,6482026-Q12019-Q1–2026-Q1 · 29 published
Total wages in the quarterPrivate ownershipQuarterly Census of Employment and Wages$5.9 billion2026-Q12019-Q1–2026-Q1 · 29 published
Annual payrollCounty Business Patterns$21.9 billion20232017–2023 · 7 published
EmploymentPaid employees in the pay period including March 12County Business Patterns368,13020232017–2023 · 7 published
EstablishmentsCounty Business Patterns13,57620232017–2023 · 7 published
Annual payrollEconomic Census$17.5 billion20222017–2022 · 2 published
EmploymentPaid employees in the pay period including March 12Economic Census333,04720222017–2022 · 2 published
EstablishmentsEconomic Census13,64920222017–2022 · 2 published
FirmsEconomic Census12,45920222017–2022 · 2 published
Receipts (sales, shipments or revenue)All establishments, current dollarsEconomic Census$34.0 billion20222017–2022 · 2 published

Breakdown

Industries within Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services

NAICSIndustrySizeEmployment
561311Employment Placement Agencies$21.4 billionReceipts · 2022 · Economic Census247,8802026-Q1 · QCEW
561312Executive Search Services$12.6 billionReceipts · 2022 · Economic Census35,4352026-Q1 · QCEW

Sources

Where every number comes from

Figures are in current dollars and are the agencies’ own, revised when they revise. Each program defines its universe differently (employer firms, private ownership, all establishments), so figures from different sources are not meant to add up. This page is not endorsed by the Census Bureau, BEA or BLS. The same data is in the Palanor API (/v1/industries) and the MCP (palanor_get_industry). All industries.