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...

Overview Zen Rating Price Value Growth Financials Momentum Sentiment Forecast

Staffing & Employment Services is Zen Rated D and is the 90th ranked industry out of 145 stock market industries

Ticker	Company	Market Cap	Price	Price Target	Upside/Downside	Consensus	Analysts	Fore. Revenue Growth	Fore. Earnings Growth	Forecast ROE	Forecast ROA
KFY	KORN FERRY	$3.42B	$65.97	$73.00	10.66%	Strong Buy	3	2.24%	6.93%	16.70%	8.47%
KFRC	KFORCE INC	$726.12M	$40.72	$39.67	-2.59%	Hold	3	4.86%	23.09%	61.69%	18.81%
ZIP	ZIPRECRUITER INC	$301.63M	$3.70	$3.33	-9.92%	Hold	3	4.81%	N/A	-23.10%	3.51%
TNET	TRINET GROUP INC	$1.90B	$41.45	$55.20	33.17%	Hold	5	-9.91%	24.20%	340.75%	8.27%
BZ	KANZHUN LTD	$6.58B	$14.20	$19.00	33.80%	Strong Buy	1	115.14%	134.18%	400.37%	326.43%
MAN	MANPOWERGROUP INC	$1.30B	$28.04	$34.40	22.68%	Hold	5	3.68%	N/A	14.31%	3.52%
UPWK	UPWORK INC	$1.03B	$8.35	$17.60	110.78%	Buy	10	11.37%	34.28%	52.64%	24.14%
HQI	HIREQUEST INC	$158.32M	$11.39	$13.00	14.14%	Buy	1	0.69%	12.96%	15.22%	11.25%
PAYX	PAYCHEX INC	$33.58B	$93.71	$107.08	14.26%	Sell	13	5.52%	12.06%	60.46%	13.86%
NSP	INSPERITY INC	$1.21B	$31.57	$33.00	4.53%	Strong Sell	1	3.67%	N/A	210.59%	6.43%
ADP	AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING INC	$85.47B	$213.81	$243.73	13.99%	Hold	11	4.58%	7.44%	82.59%	8.13%
KELYA	KELLY SERVICES INC	$341.14M	$9.84	$15.00	52.44%	Buy	1	1.22%	N/A	7.34%	3.15%
RHI	ROBERT HALF INC	$2.67B	$26.06	$31.00	18.96%	Hold	5	4.00%	28.24%	26.94%	12.27%
BBSI	BARRETT BUSINESS SERVICES INC	$717.63M	$29.22	$41.50	42.03%	Strong Buy	2	5.36%	20.24%	27.08%	7.11%
ATLN	ATLANTIC INTERNATIONAL CORP	$126.97M	$1.60	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	-43.61%
TBI	TRUEBLUE INC	$160.53M	$5.28	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	4.42%	N/A	6.64%	2.74%
NIXX	NIXXY INC	$15.33M	$0.57	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
BGSF	BGSF INC	$60.04M	$5.34	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	-3.91%	-3.44%
IPDN	PROFESSIONAL DIVERSITY NETWORK INC	$6.24M	$0.61	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
GLXG	GALAXY PAYROLL GROUP LTD	$1.75M	$0.97	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
JOB	GEE GROUP INC	$26.70M	$0.24	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
STRR	STAR EQUITY HOLDINGS INC	$36.11M	$9.77	$28.00	186.59%	Strong Buy	1	16.03%	N/A	9.89%	5.56%
MHH	MASTECH DIGITAL INC	$85.14M	$7.18	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	-0.70%	1,718.00%	15.76%	12.58%

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 17 points higher than the staffing & employment service industry average of 35.

KFY passed 18 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Korn Ferry has seen its stock lose -3.01% over the past year, overperforming other staffing & employment service stocks by 29 percentage points.

Korn Ferry has an average 1 year price target of $73.00, an upside of 10.66% from Korn Ferry's current stock price of $65.97.

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. Kforce (NYSE:KFRC)

Kforce (NYSE:KFRC) 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 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 49, which is 14 points higher than the staffing & employment service industry average of 35.

KFRC passed 17 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Kforce has seen its stock lose -2.21% over the past year, overperforming other staffing & employment service stocks by 30 percentage points.

Kforce has an average 1 year price target of $39.67, a downside of -2.59% from Kforce's current stock price of $40.72.

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.

3. Ziprecruiter (NYSE:ZIP)

Ziprecruiter (NYSE:ZIP) is the #3 top staffing & employment service stock out of 23 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +7.53% per year. Learn more.

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

Ziprecruiter (NYSE:ZIP) has a Due Diligence Score of 4, which is -31 points lower than the staffing & employment service industry average of 35.

ZIP passed 1 out of 33 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Ziprecruiter has seen its stock lose -25.1% over the past year, overperforming other staffing & employment service stocks by 7 percentage points.

Ziprecruiter has an average 1 year price target of $3.33, a downside of -9.92% from Ziprecruiter's current stock price of $3.70.

Ziprecruiter stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 3 analysts covering Ziprecruiter, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 100% 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 9.06%, which is 5 percentage points higher than the staffing & employment service industry average of 3.77%. 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 7.6%, which is 4 percentage points higher than the staffing & employment service industry average of 3.77%. 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 5.14%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the staffing & employment service industry average of 3.77%. 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 -400% 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 -0.48% in the last day, and down -0.43% over the last week. Trueblue was the among the top losers in the staffing & employment services industry, dropping -1.86% yesterday.

TrueBlue shares are trading higher after HireQuest submitted a $105 million cash proposal to acquire certain assets of the company's People-Ready segment.

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 40 points higher than the staffing & employment service industry average of 31. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Upwork's stock has dropped -52.01% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the staffing & employment service industry by -20 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 57, which is 26 points higher than the staffing & employment service industry average of 31. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Trinet Group's stock has dropped -50.93% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the staffing & employment service industry by -18 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 12 points higher than the staffing & employment service industry average of 31. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Korn Ferry's stock has dropped -3.01% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the staffing & employment service industry by 29 percentage points.

Are staffing & employment service stocks a good buy now?

40% of staffing & employment service stocks rated by analysts are a hold right now. On average, analysts expect staffing & employment service stocks to rise by 20.18% over the next year.

0% of staffing & employment service stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 11.76% of staffing & employment service stocks are rated B (Buy), 70.59% 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 17.91x.

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.