Staffing agencies in Minneapolis: Twin Cities data, Minnesota's no-hire ban and city wage rules

This page is for Twin Cities employers choosing an agency, job seekers comparing them, and B2B sellers whose customers are staffing and search firms.

Twin Cities staffing agencies in Census data

US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023, for the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro Area (CBSA 33460), NAICS 56131 (Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services) and 56132 (Temporary Help Services):

Temp help agencies are the legal employer of the people they place, so their branches carry 89% of the headcount, about 51 people each, most of them working at client sites. Search firms are the opposite: 94 of the 118 offices have fewer than five employees, so a senior search here is usually run by a small partner-led firm or the local office of a national one.

Size and location

In broader bands, 480 establishments have 1 to 19 employees, 167 have 20 to 99 and 77 have 100 or more; the 77 is the total less the smaller bands, since the Census Bureau doesn't publish the top classes for the combined codes. The temp help row accounts for all 502 branches: 18 have 250 to 499 employees, 4 have 500 to 999 and none has 1,000.

The Census Bureau published the missing county employee figures but flagged them as high-noise: the noise it adds for confidentiality moved them by 5% or more. Hennepin has 55% of the locations and 62% of the employees. These eight counties hold 695 of the 724; the rest are in smaller Minnesota and Wisconsin counties. The counts are establishments with paid employees, not companies, and they leave out self-employed recruiters and professional employer organizations (35 PEO locations, 1,484 employees). No SEC-registered listed staffing company has its headquarters in the metro.

Kinds of agency

Minnesota rules that change the contract

No-hire clauses are void. Minnesota Statutes 181.9881 says no service provider "may restrict, restrain, or prohibit in any way a customer from directly or indirectly soliciting or hiring an employee of a service provider." A service provider includes any business acting as employer or manager for work a customer contracts for, which covers staffing agencies. It took effect on 1 July 2024 for contracts entered into from that date. The exemption is narrow: workers providing software development consulting who are seeking a permanent role with the customer through the provider. If your agency contract has a no-hire or non-solicitation clause, ask whether it survives the statute, and how the agency's conversion fee is framed.

No state agency licence. Minnesota used to license employment agencies. In 2015 the Legislature repealed the licence requirement and most of the licensing sections (Laws 2015, chapter 54, article 5). Conduct rules in chapter 184 still apply, and search firms are exempt only if they're paid solely by the employer and no candidate pays any fee. An employer also may not make a candidate placed by a search firm pay any part of the firm's fee.

City minimum wages. The state minimum wage is $11.41 an hour in 2026 and $11.87 from 1 January 2027. Minneapolis requires $16.37 in 2026 and $17.02 in 2027 "for time an employee performs work in the City of Minneapolis," for anyone working at least two hours in a calendar week in the city, including temporary and jointly employed workers. St. Paul has its own ordinance.

Worked example: one temp, two sites

Illustrative example. The company, rates and markup are invented; the wage floors are the published rates.

Mill City Fulfillment (millcity.example) has a site in north Minneapolis and one in Eden Prairie. Its agency pays $15.50 for the role and bills a 40% markup. A temp works 24 hours a week in Minneapolis and 16 in Eden Prairie.

The flat quote misses $29.28 a week per temp in 2026 and $51.12 in 2027. For 15 temps through 26 weeks of 2027 that's $19,936.80. Ask the agency to quote by site, and to show the 1 January change in the rate card.

How to vet a Twin Cities agency

1. Check the entity in the Secretary of State's business filings search.
2. Get certificates for workers' compensation and general liability naming your company.
3. Quote by site: Minneapolis, St. Paul and suburban sites can carry different pay floors.
4. Read the hiring clause against 181.9881 before you sign.
5. Read ratings on ClearlyRated and call two clients with similar roles.

If you're looking for work

You shouldn't pay to register with a staffing agency, and a search firm that charges candidates loses its exemption under Minnesota law. If you work at least two hours in a week in Minneapolis, check that your pay for those hours meets the city minimum, whichever city your agency is based in. And if a client wants to hire you, Minnesota law says your agency can't contractually stop it.

Selling to Twin Cities staffing agencies

Temp branches buy timekeeping that tracks the work location (for the city wage rules), screening, safety training and workers' compensation. Search boutiques buy research, candidate data and compliance support. Every firm with pre-2024 contract templates had a reason to revisit them.

Build the list by county, starting with Hennepin's 397 locations, and sort temp branches from search boutiques by their postings. At volume, Bebop finds agencies that match a description and explains why each fits. For list method, see how to build a prospect list.

Subject: Your client agreement and 181.9881

Hi [first name],

Since July 2024, Minnesota voids clauses that stop a client from hiring a staffing firm's people, and many client agreements still carry one.

We review staffing agreements against 181.9881 and redraft conversion terms so they hold up. A first review of [firm]'s template takes [time].

Would that be useful before your next renewal round?

[Your name]

Local sources

Next step: see the rest of the state in the report on staffing agencies in Minnesota.