Staffing Industry Analysts, the nation's premier research and analysis firm covering the contingent workforce, today lowered its annual forecast for staffing spending to 4.4% growth, down from last year's projection of 6.8% growth, due to the decelerating economy.

Despite the downward revision, Staffing Industry Analysts' 2007-2008 Staffing Industry Forecast, concluded that spending on staffing services would reach $133 billion in 2007, up from $128 billion in 2006.

"Growth in staffing spending is highly sensitive to the health of the general economy," said Jon Osborne, Director of Research, Staffing Industry Analysts. "Because of the slowing economy, commercial staffing spending is likely to show a decline for all of 2007, even as certain professional staffing markets continue to perform well. Spending in the Place & Search and Professional categories will continue to grow strongly, although more slowly than it has during the robust market of the past few years. In times of economic uncertainty, corporate buyers are likely to be more cautious in their use of temporary labor and other staffing services."