Staffing agencies in Tulsa: 166 locations, Oklahoma's PEO rules and how to staff a shift that shows up

This report is for Tulsa employers who use or are choosing a staffing agency, people looking for work through one, and B2B sellers whose customers are staffing firms.

Tulsa staffing agencies in Census data

The source is the US Census Bureau's County Business Patterns 2023 for the Tulsa, OK Metro Area (CBSA 46140), seven counties around Tulsa. Two industry codes are counted: NAICS 56131 (Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services) and NAICS 56132 (Temporary Help Services).

The industry rows are from the Census Bureau's 2023 metro file. Why do 132 temp offices report 8,042 employees? Because a temp agency is the employer of the people it places. The Census definition of temporary help services says the workers it supplies to clients "are employees of the temporary help services establishment," so welders, assemblers and warehouse staff on assignment around Tulsa are counted here. Placement and search firms recruit people onto the client's payroll and count only their own recruiters, which is why 34 of them employ 345 people between them.

Size and county

The Census Bureau withholds most size classes for the two codes combined but publishes them for temp help alone, which account for 131 of the 132 temp locations; the last one has 500 or more employees. That gives 45 temp help locations with 50 or more people on payroll, the branches that staff the region's plants, yards and distribution centers.

"Not reported (high-noise figure)" means the Census Bureau published a number but flagged that its confidentiality noise changed it by 5% or more. Tulsa County has 90% of the locations and 92% of the employees.

Limits. These counts are establishments with paid employees, not companies: a national agency's three Tulsa branches count three times, and recruiters working alone without payroll aren't included. Professional employer organizations are counted under a separate code (NAICS 561330: 24 locations in the metro, more than the 11 executive search offices) and are left out of the totals above. Employment is a March 2023 snapshot.

The kinds of agency in Tulsa

Oklahoma's rules

• PEOs must register. The Oklahoma Insurance Department registers professional employer organizations under 40 O.S. 600.1 to 600.9. Registration is annual; a lapsed registration can be reinstated within 90 days at twice the renewal fee, after which the PEO must reapply. Out-of-state PEOs with no Oklahoma office or solicitation and no more than 25 covered employees in the state can claim an exemption. If a firm offers to co-employ your existing staff, ask for its Oklahoma registration.
• Wages. The US Department of Labor lists Oklahoma's minimum wage at $7.25 for employers with ten or more full-time employees at one location or more than $100,000 in annual sales, and $2.00 for others. Agencies of any size placing workers with federally covered employers pay at least the federal $7.25.
• Temp and placement agencies. We found no Oklahoma licence or registry for them, so check the business on the Oklahoma Secretary of State's entity search and ask for insurance certificates.

Worked example: ordering a crew that shows up

Illustrative example. The company, rates and no-show rate are invented to show the arithmetic.

Arkansas River Fabrication (arfab.example) needs 40 temps on its line every day for an eight-week order. Its agency's no-show rate on first shifts has run at 12%. The agency bills $23.80 an hour ($17.00 pay plus a 40% markup), and the contract bills a 4-hour minimum for any worker who reports and is sent home.

Ordering 46 (40 ÷ 0.88, rounded up) costs about $108 a day in 4-hour minimums, far less than running nearly five people short. Assuming each worker's no-show is independent, attendance still varies: 46 fills all 40 places on about 69% of days. Ask the agency for its actual first-week no-show rate at sites like yours, and recheck it after two weeks.

Finding an agency or work through one

ClearlyRated lists 63 Tulsa staffing agencies with client and talent ratings, filterable by focus, including industrial, healthcare, IT and engineering, and oil, gas and natural resources. Job seekers can use the same filters to find agencies that place their trade, then ask each recruiter about pay, shift, length of assignment and whether it can become permanent.

Selling to Tulsa staffing agencies

Tulsa's buyers sort by size and specialty:

• The 45 temp branches with 50 or more employees buy for volume: drug and background screening, protective equipment, safety training, timekeeping, payroll and workers' compensation. Branch managers judge; owners or regional managers sign.
• Energy and engineering contract firms buy candidate data, credential tracking and travel and per diem administration, and they move with drilling and project activity, so watch their job postings.
• The 34 placement and search offices are small and owner-run, buying job boards, assessments and applicant tracking.

Build the list from the ClearlyRated categories, confirm each firm on the Secretary of State's entity search, and read its open jobs to place it. Describe the agencies you want to Bebop and it returns matches, the contacts to approach and the objections to expect. For the employers driving energy staffing, see oil and gas companies in Tulsa.

Subject: Protective gear ready on day one at [client site]

Hi [first name],

I saw [agency] is filling [number] welder and fitter roles in [town] this month. When a temp arrives without the right boots or glasses, the client sends them home and the shift goes short.

We stock protective gear sized for each new start and deliver it to your branch the day before.

Want me to price a kit list for your next start date?

[Your name]

Local sources

Next step: see who hires the temps in construction companies in Tulsa.