Sectors & Industries IndustrialsStaffing & Employment Services
Best Staffing & Employment Service Stocks to Buy Now (2026)
Top staffing & employment service stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +32.52% per year, and are the best staffing & employment service stocks to buy now. Learn More.

Industry: Staffing & Employment Ser...

Growth Financials Momentum Sentiment Forecast Dividends Due Diligence

Staffing & Employment Services is Zen Rated C and is the 81st ranked industry out of 145 stock market industries

Ticker	Company	Price	Graham Fair Value	Graham Fair Value %	P/E	Forward P/E	P/S	P/B	PEG	Free Cash Flow	Free Cash Flow Yield	Book Value	BVPS	EV	EV/EBITDA
KFY	KORN FERRY	$66.52	$38.86	71.17%	12.94x	12.40x	1.19x	1.72x	2.08x	$287.95M	8.39%	$2.00B	38.83	$3.07B	6.29
UPWK	UPWORK INC	$10.49	$14.56	-27.98%	12.06x	7.13x	1.76x	2.17x	0.37x	$223.12M	16.05%	$630.32M	4.76	$1.44B	8.03
KFRC	KFORCE INC	$44.03	$23.09	90.69%	22.13x	19.43x	0.57x	6.69x	1.23x	$43.31M	5.74%	$117.36M	6.85	$878.72M	15.61
MAN	MANPOWERGROUP INC	$30.52	N/A	N/A	-105.24x	8.23x	0.08x	0.69x	N/A	-$161.40M	-11.35%	$2.06B	44.20	$2.63B	11.16
BZ	KANZHUN LTD	$13.65	$46.07	-70.37%	15.32x	1.56x	5.07x	2.15x	0.11x	$657.46M	10.69%	$2.94B	6.52	$5.75B	9.66
HQI	HIREQUEST INC	$11.15	$4.87	129.02%	24.78x	21.86x	5.08x	2.28x	1.58x	$11.99M	7.70%	$68.32M	4.90	$152.21M	15.62
ZIP	ZIPRECRUITER INC	$3.09	N/A	N/A	-8.35x	-16.10x	0.62x	-3.38x	N/A	$3.48M	1.26%	-$77.20M	-0.86	$630.49M	43.35
TNET	TRINET GROUP INC	$44.47	$37.27	19.33%	13.20x	10.24x	0.42x	24.62x	0.81x	$278.00M	13.30%	$83.00M	1.77	$1.53B	4.33
PAYX	PAYCHEX INC	$93.02	$43.52	113.73%	20.44x	16.59x	5.27x	8.30x	1.70x	$2.09B	6.26%	$4.01B	11.19	$36.55B	12.73
BBSI	BARRETT BUSINESS SERVICES INC	$31.42	N/A	N/A	14.75x	16.54x	0.65x	3.29x	N/A	$47.18M	5.86%	$241.00M	9.41	$517.88M	5.98
RHI	ROBERT HALF INC	$27.02	$21.23	27.25%	20.78x	18.30x	0.51x	2.24x	0.66x	$217.72M	8.09%	$1.23B	12.36	$2.74B	9.70
ADP	AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING INC	$214.21	$83.24	157.33%	19.91x	19.34x	3.98x	13.48x	2.95x	$4.85B	5.63%	$6.35B	15.81	$86.69B	12.94
KELYA	KELLY SERVICES INC	$9.65	N/A	N/A	-1.33x	8.92x	0.08x	0.34x	N/A	$115.10M	33.98%	$976.50M	27.82	$456.24M	-17.89
TBI	TRUEBLUE INC	$5.88	N/A	N/A	-3.65x	-102.80x	0.11x	0.64x	N/A	-$73.72M	-42.01%	$274.56M	9.20	$139.47M	-24.19
NSP	INSPERITY INC	$28.53	N/A	N/A	-42.58x	13.19x	0.16x	16.25x	N/A	$67.00M	6.15%	$67.00M	1.76	$901.97M	16.11
ATLN	ATLANTIC INTERNATIONAL CORP	$1.40	N/A	N/A	-1.30x	-2.25x	0.18x	-3.46x	N/A	-$4.46M	-5.79%	-$32.09M	-0.59	$198.69M	-4.55
NIXX	NIXXY INC	$0.60	N/A	N/A	-0.83x	N/A	0.13x	2.03x	N/A	-$4.57M	-37.15%	$7.98M	0.39	$16.87M	-1.36
STRR	STAR EQUITY HOLDINGS INC	$9.50	N/A	N/A	-5.14x	13.56x	0.18x	0.54x	N/A	-$8.36M	-27.51%	$65.71M	20.55	$49.55M	-27.87
JOB	GEE GROUP INC	$0.23	N/A	N/A	-0.75x	N/A	0.27x	0.51x	N/A	$453.00k	1.73%	$49.97M	0.46	$9.41M	-0.42
MHH	MASTECH DIGITAL INC	$6.60	$24.28	-72.81%	132.00x	7.26x	0.41x	0.88x	0.09x	$10.76M	13.88%	$89.31M	7.60	$44.15M	12.47
IPDN	PROFESSIONAL DIVERSITY NETWORK INC	$0.81	N/A	N/A	-0.38x	N/A	0.38x	0.71x	N/A	-$2.09M	-83.83%	$11.75M	3.81	$6.91M	-1.11
BGSF	BGSF INC	$5.60	N/A	N/A	-5.38x	-34.31x	0.66x	1.31x	N/A	$4.00k	0.00%	$48.11M	4.36	$43.17M	-6.49
GLXG	GALAXY PAYROLL GROUP LTD	$1.02	N/A	N/A	-0.52x	N/A	0.52x	0.53x	N/A	-$3.57M	-194.12%	$3.49M	1.93	-$2.15M	0.65

Staffing & Employment Service Stocks FAQ

What are the best staffing & employment service stocks to buy right now in May 2026?

According to Zen Ratings, our proprietary rating system that evaluates 115 factors proven to drive growth in stocks and assigns each stock in our system an overall letter grade as well as 7 individual Component Grades for Value, Growth, Momentum, Sentiment, Safety, Financials, and proprietary AI algorithms, the 3 best staffing & employment service stocks to buy right now are:

1. Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY)

Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY) is the #1 top staffing & employment service stock out of 23 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: D, Sentiment: C, Safety: A, Financials: B, and AI: B.

Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY) has a Due Diligence Score of 52, which is 18 points higher than the staffing & employment service industry average of 34.

KFY passed 18 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Korn Ferry has seen its stock return 6.28% over the past year, overperforming other staffing & employment service stocks by 34 percentage points.

Korn Ferry has an average 1 year price target of $73.00, an upside of 9.74% from Korn Ferry's current stock price of $66.52.

Korn Ferry stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 3 analysts covering Korn Ferry, 66.67% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 33.33% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

2. Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) is the #2 top staffing & employment service stock out of 23 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) is: Value: A, Growth: C, Momentum: F, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) has a Due Diligence Score of 59, which is 25 points higher than the staffing & employment service industry average of 34.

UPWK passed 19 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Upwork has seen its stock lose -21.19% over the past year, overperforming other staffing & employment service stocks by 7 percentage points.

Upwork has an average 1 year price target of $22.90, an upside of 118.3% from Upwork's current stock price of $10.49.

Upwork stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 10 analysts covering Upwork, 50% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 20% have issued a Buy, 30% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

3. Kforce (NYSE:KFRC)

Kforce (NYSE:KFRC) is the #3 top staffing & employment service stock out of 23 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Kforce (NYSE:KFRC) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: D, Sentiment: B, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Kforce (NYSE:KFRC) has a Due Diligence Score of 38, which is 4 points higher than the staffing & employment service industry average of 34.

KFRC passed 13 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Kforce has seen its stock return 14.96% over the past year, overperforming other staffing & employment service stocks by 43 percentage points.

Kforce has an average 1 year price target of $39.67, a downside of -9.91% from Kforce's current stock price of $44.03.

Kforce stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 3 analysts covering Kforce, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 33.33% have issued a Buy, 66.67% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

What are the staffing & employment service stocks with highest dividends?

Out of 12 staffing & employment service stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 staffing & employment service stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

1. Robert Half (NYSE:RHI)

Robert Half (NYSE:RHI) has an annual dividend yield of 8.73%, which is 5 percentage points higher than the staffing & employment service industry average of 3.84%. Robert Half's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Robert Half's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Robert Half's dividend payout ratio of 181.5% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

2. Insperity (NYSE:NSP)

Insperity (NYSE:NSP) has an annual dividend yield of 8.41%, which is 5 percentage points higher than the staffing & employment service industry average of 3.84%. Insperity's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% two times in the last 10 years. Insperity's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Insperity's dividend payout ratio of -358.2% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

3. Manpowergroup (NYSE:MAN)

Manpowergroup (NYSE:MAN) has an annual dividend yield of 4.72%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the staffing & employment service industry average of 3.84%. Manpowergroup's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one times in the last 10 years. Manpowergroup's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Manpowergroup's dividend payout ratio of -496.6% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Why are staffing & employment service stocks down?

Staffing & employment service stocks were down -0.94% in the last day, and up 5.76% over the last week. Insperity was the among the top losers in the staffing & employment services industry, dropping -19.79% yesterday.

Insperity shares are trading lower after the company lowered its FY2026 adjusted EPS guidance.

What are the most undervalued staffing & employment service stocks?

Based on the Valuation rating, one of the 7 components of a stocks overall Zen Ratings grade, which evaluates factors including estimated earnings yield, earnings before interest and taxes/enterprise value, cash flow yield, free cash flow to price, and price-to-earnings growth (PEG ratio), the 3 most undervalued staffing & employment service stocks right now are:

1. Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) is the most undervalued staffing & employment service stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Upwork has a valuation score of 71, which is 44 points higher than the staffing & employment service industry average of 27. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Upwork's stock has dropped -21.19% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the staffing & employment service industry by 7 percentage points.

2. Trinet Group (NYSE:TNET)

Trinet Group (NYSE:TNET) is the second most undervalued staffing & employment service stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Trinet Group has a valuation score of 43, which is 16 points higher than the staffing & employment service industry average of 27. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Trinet Group's stock has dropped -43.54% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the staffing & employment service industry by -16 percentage points.

3. Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY)

Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY) is the third most undervalued staffing & employment service stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Korn Ferry has a valuation score of 43, which is 16 points higher than the staffing & employment service industry average of 27. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Korn Ferry's stock has gained 6.28% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the staffing & employment service industry by 34 percentage points.

Are staffing & employment service stocks a good buy now?

37.5% of staffing & employment service stocks rated by analysts are a hold right now. On average, analysts expect staffing & employment service stocks to rise by 19.47% over the next year.

0% of staffing & employment service stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 23.53% of staffing & employment service stocks are rated B (Buy), 58.82% are rated C (Hold), 17.65% are rated D (Sell), and 0% are rated F (Strong Sell).

What is the average p/e ratio of the staffing & employment services industry?

The average P/E ratio of the staffing & employment services industry is 17.63x.

WallStreetZen does not provide financial advice and does not issue recommendations or offers to buy stock or sell any security.

Information is provided 'as-is' and solely for informational purposes and is not advice. WallStreetZen does not bear any responsibility for any losses or damage that may occur as a result of reliance on this data.