The US contingent workforce was worth about $4T in 2025. Statements of Work now make up nearly three quarters of the Americas total contingent workforce spend. For most of my career we’ve talked about SOW as the answer to commoditization. It’s now the bulk of the market, and the biggest growth inside it is staffing sold as part of the solution.
$4T
US contingent workforce, 2025
73%
Share of Americas contingent spend that is SOW, 2025
Source: SIA, The Americas Contingent Workforce 2026
Even the big consulting firms now carry less bench talent and more on-demand resource inside the solution. Consider the line between staffing and consulting obliterated.
With that boundary gone, industry data on contingent labor is a thinner reflection of reality than ever. We constantly come across large services firms that stay under the radar of analysts’ reporting as part of their strategy. Huge credit to organizations like SIA, which do great work trying to capture such slippery data.
- Staffing is finding the floor. US staffing revenue fell about 3% in 2025, to roughly $179B: a third straight year of decline. SIA now expects 2.4% growth in 2026.
- The smart money is back. Workforce solutions startups raised $9.9B in the first nine months of 2026, the most since 2022.
- AI is reshaping demand on talent platforms. Writing projects on Upwork fell 32% in 2025 and translation 20%, while AI integration work roughly doubled.
Sources: SIA, US Staffing Industry Forecast (September 2026 update) and Venture Capital in the Workforce Solutions Ecosystem 2026; Vollna analysis of Upwork projects, 2025.