Staffing agencies in NYC: the five-borough market, the license rules and how to choose one

This report is for New York City employers choosing an agency, job seekers deciding where to register, and B2B sellers whose customers are staffing and search firms. It covers the five boroughs (Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens and Richmond counties), not the wider metro area.

NYC staffing agencies in Census data

The US Census Bureau's County Business Patterns for 2023 counts establishments in two industries: NAICS 56131 (Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services) and NAICS 56132 (Temporary Help Services).

The city-wide employee and payroll totals are left out because some of the cells they're built from carry the Census Bureau's high-noise flag: the noise it adds to protect confidentiality changed them by 5% or more. The three boroughs with reliable figures alone account for 38,221 employees.

A search and placement city

Across the five boroughs the Census file shows 602 placement and search offices against 579 temp help locations. Nationally it's the other way round: 38,254 temp help locations against 13,576 placement and search offices. Manhattan's industry rows, from the same 2023 county file, show three different businesses:

Average pay is our calculation (payroll divided by employees). The temp help headcount looks large for a reason: the Census definition says the workers a temp agency supplies "are employees of the temporary help services establishment," so office temps and contractors working inside client firms sit on the agency's payroll. Search and placement firms place people on the client's payroll instead, so their counts are mostly recruiters and researchers, which is why a search office's average pay is three times a temp branch's.

The Bureau doesn't publish a size split for the city as a whole, but Manhattan's can be assembled from its two industry rows:

The 500-or-more row is three temp help locations with 500 to 999 employees plus one placement or search office whose exact class is withheld. Temp help's 1,000-or-more cell isn't published either; it's zero by subtraction (377 locations less the published classes).

County Business Patterns counts establishments with paid employees, not companies: a firm with offices in Midtown and Downtown Brooklyn counts twice, and a self-employed recruiter with no payroll isn't counted. Professional employer organizations (NAICS 56133) are excluded, and employment is a snapshot of one week in March 2023.

Which NYC agencies need a license

New York City's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) licenses employment agencies located in the city; offices elsewhere in the state go to the state Department of Labor. The test is what the agency does and who pays:

DCWP's Issued Licenses data (updated 20 August 2026) lists 238 active Employment Agency licenses (148 in Manhattan, 53 in Queens, 28 in Brooklyn, 2 on Staten Island, 1 in the Bronx and 6 with no borough) and 26 active Construction Labor Provider licenses. Because temp firms and employer-paid recruiters are exempt, a missing name proves nothing on its own; a firm that asks you for money and isn't on the list is the red flag.

Choosing an agency in New York City

1. Pick the type first. Temp and temp-to-hire firms for office, event, light industrial and healthcare shifts; IT and professional contract firms for project work; direct hire recruiters and executive search for permanent roles; a PEO only if you want HR and payroll run for staff you already employ.
2. Check the license where one applies, using the table above, and confirm the business is active with the New York Department of State.
3. Ask for proof of insurance: workers' compensation for anyone the agency employs and general liability.
4. Get the money terms in writing: pay rate and markup for temps, or the fee, payment schedule and replacement guarantee for placements, plus whether the firm screens candidates with automated tools.
5. Read reviews and call references: ClearlyRated lists New York agencies with client and talent ratings.

If you're looking for work

State law (General Business Law section 185) lets a licensed agency charge you only under a written contract, and only after it referred you and you were hired. It can't take a deposit, an advance fee or a registration fee, and an employer may pay the fee for you. Most temp and professional recruiting firms charge job seekers nothing at all. If you'd rather not use an agency, the city's 18 Workforce1 Career Centers offer free job search help, résumé advice and referrals.

Worked example: what a Manhattan search costs and when you pay

Illustrative example. The company, salary and fee rates are invented to show the arithmetic; real terms vary by firm and contract.

Hudson Ledger Partners (hudsonledger.example) needs a controller at a $180,000 base salary and compares two quotes.

The contingency quote is $9,000 cheaper and costs nothing if no one is hired, but the recruiter is paid only on success and may be working the same role for several clients. The retained firm costs more and keeps two-thirds of its fee even if you stop, in exchange for exclusive effort and a research-built slate. Ask both what happens if you hire a candidate you found yourself, and how long the replacement guarantee lasts.

Selling to NYC staffing and search firms

Search firms buy candidate research, assessment, reference checking and compensation data. Temp and contract firms buy payroll, timekeeping, background checks and job advertising. One New York angle cuts across both: under Local Law 144, employers and employment agencies may use an automated employment decision tool on city candidates only if it had a bias audit within the past year, the audit summary is public and candidates got notice 10 business days before use. DCWP has enforced it since 5 July 2023, so any screening or matching software sold to NYC agencies needs its audit story ready. Build the account list from the New York Staffing Association's member directory and the ASA directory, then split temp from search by reading job postings. At volume that's the slow part; Bebop finds firms that match a description and explains why each fits. For method, see how to build a prospect list.

Subject: Your AI screening and Local Law 144

Hi [first name],

I saw [firm] is running [number] searches in New York this month. If any of your sourcing or screening tools rank NYC candidates automatically, Local Law 144 needs a bias audit from the past year and notice 10 business days before use.

We [what you do, e.g. run the audit and draft the notices] for search firms your size, usually in [time].

Would it help to see what the audit summary looks like for a firm like yours?

[Your name]

Public companies and local sources

No exchange-listed staffing company in the SEC's staffing codes is headquartered in the city. EDGAR shows a New York business address for one, Baiya International Group, but its 2025 annual report (Form 20-F) gives its principal executive offices as Shenzhen, China; the New York address is the one it lists for its company contact.

Next step: see how staffing fits the wider economy in the report on companies in New York City.