Staffing agencies in Chattanooga: a temp help market of 71 locations, and the Tennessee and Georgia rules

This page is for Chattanooga employers looking for an agency, job seekers deciding where to sign up, and B2B sellers who count staffing firms as customers.

How many staffing agencies Chattanooga has

The Chattanooga, TN-GA Metro Area (CBSA 16860) covers Hamilton, Marion and Sequatchie counties in Tennessee and Catoosa, Dade and Walker counties in Georgia. The US Census Bureau's County Business Patterns 2023 counts its staffing establishments under NAICS 56131 (Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services) and NAICS 56132 (Temporary Help Services).

Temp help is 96% of the headcount because temp agencies are the legal employer of the people they place. Census defines the industry as supplying workers to clients, with the workers being "employees of the temporary help services establishment," so a picker on assignment at a distribution center is counted here. Average pay of $34,536 reflects those assignments, many of them hourly production and warehouse work, not the pay of agency office staff.

Size and location

The Census Bureau doesn't publish size classes for the two codes combined in this metro, but it does for temp help on its own:

Those classes account for 62 of the 64 temp locations; the other two have 250 or more employees, in classes the Census Bureau doesn't publish. So about 19 temp branches have 50 or more people on payroll, and these are the agencies that supply the region's plants.

Marion County's employee total was published but flagged as high-noise: the noise the Census Bureau adds for confidentiality moved it by 5% or more. The Georgia counties aren't listed separately for this industry. County Business Patterns counts establishments with paid employees, not companies, so a national agency's two branches count twice and self-employed recruiters are excluded. Professional employer organizations aren't in these figures, and the count is the week of March 12, 2023.

With 71 locations, Chattanooga is a small market. For a wider view of the region's industrial staffing, compare the Birmingham report, where 62 temp branches have 50 or more employees.

Tennessee and Georgia rules

• PEOs. Tennessee law says no one may provide or advertise professional employer services in the state unless registered (Tennessee Code 62-43-106), and defines the department as the Department of Commerce and Insurance. Registration lasts two years. A temp agency that supplies its own workers isn't a PEO; a firm that offers to co-employ your existing staff is.
• Wages. The US Department of Labor lists Tennessee as having no state minimum wage law and Georgia's minimum as $5.15 for employers of six or more, with federally covered employers paying $7.25 in both.
• Georgia side. Georgia's unemployment law (O.C.G.A. 34-8-46) treats temp agency employment as a series of assignments, so finishing one doesn't end the job with the agency.
• Agencies. We found no licence or registry for general temp agencies in either state, so the checks below fall to you.

Choosing and checking an agency

1. Pick the type. Temp for peaks and cover; temp-to-hire to try a worker before hiring; direct hire for permanent roles; a PEO only if you want payroll and HR run for staff you already employ.
2. Ask what the agency fills now. Branches that already supply production or warehouse roles near your site know the local pay and the commute.
3. Get certificates of workers' compensation and general liability insurance naming your company.
4. Get the price in parts: pay rate, markup, overtime billing and the fee if you hire a temp before the agreed hours.
5. Agree safety duties in writing: who trains, who supplies protective equipment, who reports injuries.
6. Read ratings. ClearlyRated lists 35 Chattanooga staffing agencies with client and talent ratings, filterable by focus such as industrial or healthcare.

For job seekers, the same list is a quick way to find agencies that place people in your field. Ask any recruiter for the pay rate, the length of the assignment and whether it can become permanent before you accept.

Selling to Chattanooga staffing agencies

A market this size is a short list: about 19 temp branches with 50 or more employees, 45 smaller temp offices and 7 placement or search firms. The larger branches buy screening, timekeeping, safety training, protective equipment and workers' compensation; branch managers run the evaluation and owners or regional managers sign. The small offices are owner-run and buy job advertising and applicant tracking.

Start from the ClearlyRated listings and the Chattanooga Area Chamber's member directory, then check each agency's open jobs to see which plants and warehouses it serves. Research every account properly: with a list this short, a generic email wastes one of few chances. The account research guide covers what to look for, and Bebop can do that research for each agency in the list.

Subject: Forklift certifications for [agency]'s new starts

Hi [first name],

I saw [agency] is filling [number] material handler roles in Hamilton County this month. Clients usually want operators certified before the first shift, which can hold up a start date.

We run on-site forklift training and certification for groups of up to [number], with records sent to your branch.

Would it help to schedule a session before your next start?

[Your name]

Local sources

Next step: see the freight employers behind much of the temp demand in trucking companies in Chattanooga.