Staffing agencies in Detroit: 952 locations, Kelly Services' home market and Michigan's rules

This report is for Southeast Michigan employers choosing an agency, job seekers working through one, and B2B sellers whose customers are staffing firms.

Metro Detroit staffing agencies by the numbers

Source: US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023, for the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metro Area (CBSA 19820): Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston, St. Clair and Lapeer counties. Two industry codes are counted: NAICS 56131 (Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services) and NAICS 56132 (Temporary Help Services).

The industry rows come from the Census Bureau's 2023 metro file. The employee count is large because a temp agency employs the people it places: the Census definition says the workers supplied to clients "are employees of the temporary help services establishment." An engineer contracted to an automotive supplier through an agency counts as staffing employment, not manufacturing. That's 88% of the headcount here. Placement agencies and search firms count only their own recruiters, since the people they place join the client's payroll.

Size and county

In broad bands: 649 locations with 1 to 19 employees, 203 with 20 to 99 and 100 with 100 or more, the last being the total less the smaller bands because the top cells aren't published for the two codes together. Within temp help, 22 locations have 250 to 499 employees and two more are larger, in classes the Census Bureau doesn't publish.

Missing employee figures were published but flagged as high-noise: the noise the Census Bureau adds for confidentiality changed them by 5% or more. Oakland County has almost two-thirds of the locations. The county file shows why its average is low, about 29 employees per location: 251 of its 519 temp help offices have fewer than five employees, and it holds 95 placement and search offices, including 43 of the metro's 59 executive search firms. Wayne County's 203 locations average about 51 employees.

These are establishments with paid employees, not companies: a national agency with eight branches in the metro counts eight times, and independent recruiters without payroll aren't counted. Professional employer organizations (NAICS 561330: 81 more locations with 4,342 employees) are excluded, and employment is the week of March 12, 2023.

Michigan's rules for agencies and job seekers

• Personnel agency licence. Michigan's Occupational Code says no one may open or operate a personnel agency in the state without a licence (MCL 339.1003). A type A personnel agency is one that puts a client, the job seeker, in contact with employers and takes a fee from that client. The same section exempts a business that employs people to do temporary or part-time work for a third party, provided it pays their wages, payroll taxes, unemployment insurance and workers' compensation and stays responsible for their acts. In plain terms: a temp agency that employs you doesn't need this licence, but an agency that charges you, the job seeker, a fee does.
• Minimum wage. The US Department of Labor lists Michigan's minimum wage at $13.73, rising to $15.00 on 1 January 2027 and adjusted each year after that.

Choosing an agency in Metro Detroit

Then verify: ask for certificates of workers' compensation and general liability insurance naming your company, call two references with similar roles, and start with a small group.

Worked example: when Michigan's minimum wage rises

Illustrative example. The company and markup are invented; the wage rates are Michigan's published minimums.

Rouge River Packaging (rougeriver.example) in Wayne County uses 25 temps paid at the state minimum, 2,080 hours each a year. Its agency bills a 45% markup. The question is how the contract treats the step from $13.73 to $15.00 on 1 January 2027.

Both terms start at the same rate. With a percentage markup, the agency's margin grows with the wage, so the bill rises $0.57 an hour more. Across 25 workers and 52,000 hours, that's $29,640 in 2027. Neither is wrong, since the agency's payroll taxes and insurance also rise with pay, but decide which one you're signing before the new year.

Metro Detroit's public staffing company

One SEC-registered, listed company in the staffing industry codes (SIC 7361 to 7363) has its headquarters in the metro.

Kelly's 10-K reports revenue down 1.9% from $4,331.8 million in 2024, and says that in 2025, with its supplier partners, it placed about 375,000 workers with customers. Its business runs through three units: Enterprise Talent Management (light industrial, contact center and office), Science, Engineering & Technology, and Education. The staff figure is Kelly's own employees; the people it places are counted separately.

Selling to Detroit staffing agencies

Large national firms such as Kelly tend to buy centrally, so the local opportunity is in the independent and regional firms:

• Engineering and IT contract firms in Oakland County buy candidate data, timesheet and invoicing tools, and background checks for client sites. The owner or delivery head decides.
• Light industrial branches in Wayne and Macomb counties buy screening, safety training, protective equipment and payroll. Branch managers judge; owners sign.
• The 457 one- to four-person offices buy job boards and applicant tracking, and decide in a single conversation.

Start from the Detroit Regional Chamber's business directory and the American Staffing Association directory for Michigan, then sort by the roles each firm advertises. For a list this long, Bebop finds the agencies that match your description, explains why each fits and writes a playbook for each account. For the plants behind the demand, see manufacturing companies in Michigan.

Subject: Contractor timesheets approved before Friday

Hi [first name],

I saw [firm] has [number] contract engineers on programs at suppliers around [city]. When a client manager approves timesheets late, your invoices slip and your contractors still need paying on time.

We send approval reminders to client managers and flag missing approvals on Wednesday, so invoices go out on schedule.

Worth a look at how many of last month's timesheets were approved late?

[Your name]

Local sources

Next step: compare the region's demand with companies in Detroit.