Staffing agencies in Omaha: the market, the two-state rules and how to check an invoice

This report is for Omaha and Council Bluffs employers choosing a staffing agency, job seekers comparing agencies, and B2B sellers whose customers are staffing firms in the metro.

Omaha staffing agencies at a glance

The figures cover the Omaha, NE-IA Metro Area (CBSA 36540) and two industry codes: NAICS 56131 (Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services) and NAICS 56132 (Temporary Help Services). Source: US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023.

Douglas County does almost all of it

Douglas County holds 85% of the locations and 95% of the employees. Sarpy County's 15 offices have 74 employees between them, so they're small recruiting practices, not temp branches. Pottawattamie County's employee count carries the Census Bureau's high-noise flag (the noise it adds for confidentiality moved it by 5% or more), so it's left out.

Why the temp payroll is so well paid

These rows are from the Census Bureau's 2023 metro file; average pay is our calculation. Temp help holds 92% of the employees for a structural reason: the Census definition says workers supplied by a temp agency "are employees of the temporary help services establishment," so a contract claims processor at an insurer or a developer at a payments firm counts on the agency's payroll. When temps are mostly office, IT and finance contractors, the average climbs, and Omaha's $57,348 is 18% above the $48,635 average for temp help across the US.

The Census Bureau publishes no combined cells above 99 employees for the metro and doesn't publish the 1,000-or-more cell, so the 24 is the total less the smaller classes. The temp help row covers most of it: 17 temp locations have 100 to 249 employees and 5 have 250 to 499.

These counts are establishments with paid employees, not companies: a firm with offices in Downtown Omaha and Papillion counts twice, and independent recruiters without payroll aren't counted. Professional employer organizations (NAICS 56133) are a separate code and aren't included, the headcount is a mid-March 2023 snapshot, and EDGAR shows no listed staffing company based in the metro.

Two states, two sets of pay rules

The minimum wage figures are from the US Department of Labor's state table, updated 1 July 2026. A temp placed in Council Bluffs and one placed in Omaha can be paid on different floors for the same job, so ask the agency to quote each work address.

How to choose an Omaha agency

1. Match the agency to the role. Professional and IT contract staffing, office and customer service temps, light industrial, healthcare, direct hire placement or executive search; a PEO only if you want HR and payroll for staff you already employ.
2. Confirm the business on the Nebraska Secretary of State's entity search and ask for workers' compensation and general liability certificates.
3. Get the rate card in writing: pay rate, markup, overtime, conversion fees, and what's billed for orientation or training hours.
4. Check reviews and references: ClearlyRated lists Omaha agencies with client and talent ratings.
5. Audit the first month of invoices against your approved timesheets, as in the example below.

If you're looking for work, Heartland Workforce Solutions runs job seeker, adult and dislocated worker, apprenticeship and veteran services in Omaha, and most staffing agencies are paid by employers, so be wary of any agency that asks you for money up front.

Worked example: auditing a weekly invoice

Illustrative example. The company, rates and errors are invented to show the arithmetic.

Elkhorn Ridge Insurance Services (elkhornridge.example) has 12 temps in a claims team at a $21.00 pay rate with a 38% markup: a $28.98 bill rate, and $43.47 for overtime hours over 40 in a week. Approved timesheets show 474 hours: 468 regular and 6 overtime, the overtime all from one worker who worked 46 hours.

Two errors explain it: one worker's 8-hour day was entered twice, and a worker who did three 10-hour days but only 38 hours in the week was billed 6 overtime hours that were regular time. Neither is large in a week; repeated for a year, it's $16,576.56. Match hours to timesheets, check overtime against the 40-hour week, and confirm each worker's rate against the contract.

Selling to Omaha staffing agencies

With professional contractors on the payroll, Omaha agencies buy more than warehouse tools: contractor benefits and onboarding, IT equipment and security for remote contractors, background checks, timekeeping and invoicing software, and candidate data for finance and technology roles. Start from the ASA directory and the ClearlyRated listings, then read job postings to see which agencies place professionals and which run light industrial orders. Researching each one is the slow part; Bebop finds agencies that match a description and explains why each fits. To size the effort first, see how to build a prospect list.

Subject: Invoice disputes on [client type] accounts

Hi [first name],

I saw [agency] has [number] contract openings in Omaha for [role, e.g. claims or IT] roles. On professional accounts, most invoice disputes start with a timesheet entered twice or overtime coded on the wrong day.

We [what you do] so invoices match approved time before they go out.

Would it help to run last month's invoices through it and see what it flags?

[Your name]

Local sources

Next step: compare Omaha with Iowa's capital in the report on staffing agencies in Des Moines.