Celebrating the People Behind the Placements: National Staffing Employee Week 2026

Every September, the American Staffing Association dedicates a week to recognizing the temporary and contract employees who keep American businesses moving. This year, National Staffing Employee Week takes place September 14 through 20, and at ClinLab Solutions Group, we are taking the opportunity to celebrate the professionals who make our work possible: our contractors.

From research associates at the bench to clinical professionals supporting trial sites, contract talent is the engine of the life sciences industry. This week is about them.

A Workforce Millions Strong

The scale of the staffing industry often surprises people. According to ASA, 9.5 million temporary and contract employees across the country will be recognized during National Staffing Employee Week this year. Behind that number are scientists, healthcare professionals, engineers, administrators, and skilled workers who chose a flexible path and built real careers on it.

ASA reports that this year's celebration arrives after 10 consecutive months of year-over-year growth in staffing employment, as employers increasingly turn to flexible talent to meet workforce needs.

In life sciences, that growth is not a signal of employer hesitancy. It reflects how the work itself is structured. Development programs expand and contract around milestones. A study needs a CRA for a phase, not forever. A lab scales up for a campaign and back down when it ships. The contract professionals who move through those cycles are not filling gaps. They are how the science advances on schedule.

Why People Choose Staffing

There is a common misconception that contract work is a fallback. The data tells a different story. ASA research shows that 6 in 10 staffing employees, or 64 percent, work in the industry to fill the gap between jobs or to help them land a job, using contract assignments as a bridge to their next opportunity. Another 1 out of 5 cite schedule flexibility as their reason for choosing temporary or contract work. A 2025 survey conducted by i360 and ASA also found that 40 percent of temporary workers are under the age of 29 and 76 percent are under 44, which speaks to how many people are building the early and middle stages of their careers this way.

In life sciences specifically, contract work offers something more: exposure. Contractors gain experience across multiple therapeutic areas, technologies, and company cultures in a way that a single permanent role rarely provides. For many of the professionals we place, that breadth becomes a career accelerator.

Building Skills for What Comes Next

Contract professionals are not just keeping pace with a changing economy. In many cases, they are ahead of it. A study released this year by ASA and LinkedIn, drawing on labor market data from more than 200 million U.S. LinkedIn members, found that temporary and contract workers added AI literacy skills at a 46 percent higher rate than LinkedIn members overall in 2025. They were also 7 percent more likely to add technical AI engineering skills. Over the same period, contract job postings on the platform rose 7 percent year to year even as overall postings dipped.

That pattern is familiar to us. The scientific professionals we place are used to learning new systems, new platforms, and new protocols on short timelines. That adaptability is exactly what our clients are looking for.

Satisfaction That Speaks for Itself

The staffing model works, and the people in it say so. In ASA's staffing employee survey, 9 out of 10 temporary and contract workers reported being satisfied with their staffing companies. Nearly 90 percent said that temporary or contract work made them more employable, and virtually all employees who wanted to convert to permanent employment achieved that goal.

That bridge from contract to permanent placement is something we see every day at ClinLab. Some of our proudest moments are watching a contractor we placed become a full-time hire at a company where they have found their fit.

Spotlight on Massachusetts

ClinLab Solutions Group is proud to be headquartered in Boston, in the heart of one of the world's premier life sciences hubs. The staffing industry plays a significant role here at home. ASA's Massachusetts fact sheet counts staffing employment in the hundreds of thousands statewide, tens of thousands of temporary help workers on assignment in an average week, and billions of dollars in annual payroll across roughly a thousand staffing offices.

What stands out in that data is the occupation mix. Healthcare support, healthcare practitioner and technical roles, and business and financial operations all rank among the top temporary help occupation groups in the state. In a place defined by its hospitals, biotechs, and research institutions, that is not incidental. Contract professionals are woven into the fabric of the industries that define us.

Thank You to Our Contractors

To every contractor who represents ClinLab Solutions Group at client sites across the country: thank you. Your expertise, professionalism, and adaptability are what our reputation is built on. National Staffing Employee Week is your week, and we are honored to celebrate you.

If you are a life sciences professional curious about what contract or direct hire opportunities could look like for your career, we would love to talk. And if you are a company looking for talent that can make an impact from day one, we know 9.5 million people who prove it is possible.

Resourcing Talent from Lab to Launch.

Sources: American Staffing Association, National Staffing Employee Week 2026 announcement, Staffing Industry Statistics, ASA and LinkedIn State of Staffing and Search report, and ASA staffing statistics by state. americanstaffing.net/research