April 11, 2026 (1w ago)
Written by David Viejo
Last updated April 11, 2026 (1w ago)
How much do temps cost? It's the first question every employer asks — and the hardest to answer. The US temporary staffing market hit $184 billion in 2024 according to Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA, 2025). Yet most employers hiring their first temp worker have no idea what they'll actually pay. The bill rate on your invoice isn't the worker's hourly wage — it's that wage plus a markup that covers taxes, insurance, recruiting, and a slim profit margin.
This guide breaks down how much do temps cost across industries and regions in 2026. You'll get exact hourly rates, the math behind agency markups, a head-to-head comparison with full-time employees, and specific pricing for both the United States and Saudi Arabia. Every figure comes from government data or industry research firms. (Already tracking SaaS tool costs? See how one team replaced $600/mo in SaaS with self-hosting.)
TL;DR: US temp workers cost employers $25-105/hr after agency markups of 25-100%, depending on the industry. The average base pay is $18.82/hr (PayScale, 2025), but your actual bill lands 35-41% higher. In Saudi Arabia, expat temps average ~$6.60/hr with no income tax. Temps often cost less than full-time hires when you factor in benefits, recruiting, and training overhead.
The average US temp worker earns $18.82 per hour through staffing agencies (PayScale, 2025). But that's the worker's take-home rate — not what you pay. After the agency's markup, employers typically spend $25 to $37 per hour for general temp roles.
Why the spread? It depends on the job. An administrative assistant costs far less than a traveling nurse or a DevOps contractor. Here's what employers actually pay across five major categories:
The pattern is clear: the more specialized the skill, the higher the markup percentage. Administrative temps carry a 25-50% markup. Healthcare temps? That doubles. Nurses through travel staffing agencies often cost employers 100% or more above the worker's base rate — a $45/hr nurse generates a $90/hr bill.
The American Staffing Association reports that US staffing companies employ roughly 2.2 million temp and contract workers during an average business week, with 12.7 million hired annually (ASA, 2024). Industrial roles account for 36% of placements, office and clerical work 24%, and professional or managerial positions 21%. Where your role falls in that mix determines your price bracket.
So what exactly is that markup paying for? It's not all profit — not even close.
Staffing agency markups range from 25% to over 100%, with the average temp placement falling in the 35-41% range (Hunter Recruiting, 2025). That sounds steep until you see where the money goes.
On a $28/hr bill rate, the agency's actual profit is roughly $2.24 — about 8%. The worker gets $16.80. The remaining $8.96 covers legally required payroll taxes (FICA, SUTA, FUTA), workers' compensation insurance, general liability coverage, recruiting costs, and administrative overhead.
According to Hunter Recruiting (2025), agency profit margins sit between 3-8% across the industry. The markup isn't a luxury surcharge — it's the cost of employment that you'd pay yourself if you hired directly. Agencies bundle it into a single bill rate so you don't manage payroll, tax filings, or insurance claims.
Here's how markups break down by placement type:
| Placement Type | Typical Markup | Example: $20/hr Worker |
|---|---|---|
| Administrative/Clerical | 25-50% | $25-30/hr billed |
| Light Industrial | 35-60% | $27-32/hr billed |
| Skilled Trades | 40-75% | $28-35/hr billed |
| IT/Professional | 50-100%+ | $30-40+/hr billed |
| Healthcare | 100%+ | $40+/hr billed |
Does this mean temps are always more expensive than hiring someone yourself? Not necessarily. (For a similar breakdown of hidden costs in platform pricing, we did the same math on Netlify.)
Private industry employers pay an average of $46.15 per hour in total compensation — $32.36 in wages and $13.79 in benefits — according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (ECEC, Q4 2025). That means benefits add roughly 30% on top of base salary for every full-time employee.
Our calculation: A full-time employee earning $39,146/year ($18.82/hr) actually costs the employer ~$61,200 annually when you add benefits, payroll taxes, recruiting, and training. A temp worker at the same base rate with a 40% agency markup costs ~$58,700 — roughly $2,500 less per year, with zero recruiting or benefits administration.
The full-time employee's hidden costs add up fast. Health insurance alone averages $17,496 per employee per year, rising 6% year-over-year (Mercer, via TimeCamp, 2025). Recruiting costs run $4,000-4,400 per hire according to SHRM. Onboarding adds another $1,830, and annual training costs $1,286 per worker.
With a temp, those costs vanish from your books. The agency handles payroll taxes, workers' comp, unemployment insurance, and recruiting. You pay one bill rate and nothing else — unless you trigger additional fees (more on that below).
Short answer: for projects under 6-12 months. Longer than that, and the cumulative markup often exceeds what you'd spend on benefits and recruiting for a permanent hire. The break-even point depends on your industry and the role's pay rate, but here's a rough guide:
Saudi Arabia's staffing market is worth approximately $2.6 billion in 2026 and growing at 8% annually, driven by Vision 2030's massive infrastructure investments (SIA, 2026). That growth rate is four times faster than the US market's 2% pace.
The cost structure in Saudi Arabia differs fundamentally from the US because there's no income tax on wages. What workers earn is what they keep. This changes the staffing equation for employers too — there's no federal tax withholding to manage, no state income tax, and limited mandated benefits for expatriate workers.
Average monthly salaries reveal a stark divide. Expatriate workers — who make up the majority of the temp workforce — earn SAR 3,933 per month ($1,049 USD), while Saudi nationals earn SAR 11,034 per month ($2,942 USD) according to Saudi GASTAT (Q2 2025). Low-skilled expat temp roles pay as little as SAR 1,500-2,500/month ($400-667 USD).
Saudi unemployment hit a historic low of 2.8% overall in Q1 2025, with Saudi national unemployment at 6.3% — beating Vision 2030 targets six years early (Saudi Ministry of HRSD, 2025). The Public Investment Fund created 400,000 jobs in five years and plans 1.8 million more in the next five (Korn Ferry, 2025).
What does this mean for temp costs? Demand is rising faster than supply. Korn Ferry projects a skilled worker shortage of 663,000 by 2030, which could leave $206.77 billion in unrealized revenue (Korn Ferry, 2025). For employers hiring temps in Saudi Arabia, expect upward wage pressure in technical and Vision 2030-aligned roles like construction, engineering, and IT.
Agency markups in the Kingdom typically range from 20-50% — lower than US rates — reflecting reduced compliance costs from the absence of income tax and limited mandatory benefits for expat workers.
The bill rate isn't always the final number. Staffing agencies tack on additional charges that can inflate your total cost by 10-25% if you're not watching. Here's what to negotiate upfront:
Rush placements add a 10-25% premium on the standard bill rate. Need someone tomorrow instead of next week? You'll pay for that urgency. Plan at least two weeks ahead when possible.
Minimum billing hours — most agencies bill a minimum of 4-8 hours per day, even if the worker only stays for 2 hours. If you need part-time or on-call temps, clarify the minimum before signing.
Conversion fees hit when you want to hire a temp permanently. Expect to pay $500 or more as a flat fee, or 15-25% of the worker's first-year salary. Some contracts include a sliding scale — the longer the temp works before conversion, the lower the fee.
Background checks and drug testing cost $50-200 per candidate (Hunter Recruiting, 2025). Some agencies include basic screenings in their markup. Others charge separately. Ask which checks are included.
Geographic premiums in metro areas add 10-21% to bill rates. A temp in San Francisco costs meaningfully more than the same role in a mid-size city — even through the same agency.
Our finding: The single biggest cost surprise we've seen employers encounter isn't the markup — it's the conversion fee. If there's any chance you'll want to hire the temp permanently, negotiate the conversion terms before the placement starts. Switching that from 25% of salary to a declining scale saves thousands.
Employers who negotiate master service agreements save 2-5 percentage points on markup rates according to Hunter Recruiting (2025). You can't eliminate the markup — agencies need it to operate. But you can shrink your total spend without sacrificing quality. Here are five approaches that actually work:
Negotiate volume discounts. If you're placing 5+ temps or committing to ongoing placements, most agencies will cut 2-5 percentage points off the markup. Ask for a master service agreement (MSA) with tiered pricing.
Use direct-hire for long-term needs. If you know you'll need someone for more than 6 months, a direct-hire placement (18-25% of first-year salary, one-time) almost always costs less than 6+ months of marked-up temp billing.
Consider payrolling services. Already found the worker yourself? Some agencies offer "payrolling" — they handle payroll, taxes, and compliance for a reduced markup of 15-20%, since they didn't source the candidate.
Compare at least three agencies. Markup rates vary significantly between agencies, even for identical roles. A 5% difference on a $30/hr bill rate saves $3,120 per temp per year. (We applied the same comparison approach to Vercel pricing vs self-hosted alternatives — the savings scale similarly.)
Plan ahead to avoid rush fees. That 10-25% rush premium disappears when you give agencies 1-2 weeks of lead time. Build temp staffing into your workforce planning, not your emergency response.
The average staffing agency markup for temporary placements falls between 35-41% of the worker's base pay (Hunter Recruiting, 2025). Administrative roles sit at the low end (25-50%), while healthcare and IT positions carry markups of 50-100% or more. The agency's actual profit margin is only 3-8% — the rest covers payroll taxes, insurance, and recruiting costs.
Not always. A temp worker at $18.82/hr with a 40% markup costs approximately $58,700/year — roughly $2,500 less than a full-time employee at the same base rate when you include benefits, payroll taxes, recruiting, and training (BLS ECEC, Q4 2025). Temps become more expensive than full-time hires for engagements longer than 6-12 months.
Employers pay between $20 and $150+ per hour depending on the role. General administrative temps bill at $20-30/hr. Skilled trades run $28-70/hr. IT contractors hit $60-150/hr. Healthcare professionals, particularly travel nurses, can exceed $90/hr (Hunter Recruiting, 2025).
Most temp workers don't receive traditional benefits like health insurance or retirement plans from the hiring company. However, larger staffing agencies offer limited benefits — including basic health plans, paid sick leave, and holiday pay — funded through the markup on the bill rate. The Affordable Care Act requires staffing firms with 50+ full-time equivalent employees to offer minimum essential coverage.
Construction temp workers fall under the "Skilled Trades" category, with base pay ranging from $25-40/hr and agency markups of 40-75%. Employers typically pay $35-70/hr for construction temps depending on the specialty (Hunter Recruiting, 2025). Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 construction boom is pushing rates higher in the Kingdom, where the Public Investment Fund plans to create 1.8 million jobs in the next five years.
Temp worker costs depend on three variables: the role's skill level, your location, and how well you negotiate with your agency. Here's what to remember:
The global staffing industry is worth $619 billion and growing (SIA, 2025). Whether you're in Houston or Riyadh, the economics of temp staffing follow the same logic: you're paying a premium for flexibility, speed, and offloaded risk. The key is knowing exactly how much that premium costs — and now you do.
If you're building a development team and want to cut infrastructure costs alongside staffing costs, see our Next.js deployment cost calculator — the math works the same way.
