Healthcare Staffing Industry Digest: September 18-September 25, 2026
Executive Summary
The Recovery Gets a Second Witness, and AI Hiring Law Gets a Date: Before you dive into this week’s intelligence digest, here are the macro trends actively reshaping our industry today:
The Recovery Has Two Witnesses: The American Staffing Association’s Q2 survey shows staffing revenue up 3.3% year over year, the first year-over-year growth since late 2022, confirming the SIA recovery call with independent data.
Demand Outruns the Holiday Dip: SIA/Bullhorn staffing hours ran 11% above last year after adjusting for Labor Day, while the S&P Global composite PMI hit 58.4, its highest since July 2021, with firms reporting growing trouble finding staff.
Healthcare Owns the Deal Flow: Healthcare firms made up 26% of staffing companies acquired in 2025, the largest share of any segment, even as total North American deal volume held flat at 93.
AI Hiring Compliance Gets Dates: Connecticut’s automated employment decision rules go live October 1, and Workday plaintiffs moved on September 14 to certify four discrimination subclasses, which turns AI screening into a board-level risk question for every staffing firm.
Top Platforms Curate Their Suppliers: AMN adding NurseAmerica as a supplier at Allegheny Health Network and Medical Solutions hosting its second Top Affiliate Summit confirms that access to large health system accounts increasingly runs through a major platform’s preferred network.
Dive into this week’s digest below to see exactly how the market’s biggest players are navigating these shifts.
M&A / Partnerships
Healthcare-Led Staffing M&A in 2025 With 26% of Deals
A new SIA report counts 93 announced North American staffing deals in 2025, identical to 2024, with 24 involving healthcare firms. Private companies made 92% of acquisitions, while PE buyers fell to 4% from 16%, which means strategic buyers, not sponsors, set healthcare valuations last year.
Read about SIA’s 2025 staffing M&A reportNurseAmerica Signs AMN Supplier Agreement for Allegheny Health Network
NurseAmerica will deliver workforce solutions to Allegheny Health Network in collaboration with AMN Healthcare under a new supplier agreement. The deal shows how AMN extends enterprise accounts: it selects preferred sub-vendors, and independent agencies reach large systems through AMN rather than around it.
Read about the NurseAmerica and AMN supplier agreement
Financial Results
ASA Q2 Survey: Staffing Revenue Up 3.3%, First Annual Growth Since 2022
Temporary and contract payroll rose 3.8% year over year, and employment grew 5.0% quarter over quarter, roughly 94,000 jobs. A second authoritative source now confirms the turn, which removes the “one forecast” objection from client and investor conversations.
Read about the ASA Q2 staffing surveySIA/Bullhorn Staffing Indicator: Hours Up 11% Despite Labor Day Dip
For the week ending September 12, holiday-adjusted US staffing hours rose 11% year over year, with commercial up 14% and professional up 8%, even as hours fell 5.5% week over week. The prior week’s 7% moderation proved temporary, and the urgency case for Q4 contract talks is back.
Read about the SIA/Bullhorn Staffing IndicatorUS Business Activity Hits Fastest Pace Since 2021
The S&P Global flash composite PMI climbed to 58.4 in September, with employment growing at its fastest rate in over four years. S&P’s chief business economist also cited companies’ increasing problems finding suitable staff, the exact condition that sustains contingent labor demand.
Read about the September PMI readingADP: Private Hiring Accelerates for Third Straight Week
Private employers added an average of 20,000 jobs per week in the four weeks ended September 5, up from 16,750 and 12,250 in the two prior periods. Steadily rising momentum undercuts any procurement argument that a soft labor market justifies delaying Q4 commitments.
Read about the ADP NER Pulse update
Product / Platform News
Reliability Launches Healthcare IT Staffing Unit Led by Former AMN Executive
Reliability Incorporated (OTC: RLBY) launched Reliability Workplace Solutions, offering staffing, EOR, and workforce management, with healthcare IT as its first practice under Ryan Hadley, a former AMN Healthcare director of business development. New entrants arriving now confirm healthcare IT staffing is attracting fresh capital as demand firms.
Read about the Reliability Workplace Solutions launchMedely Launches “Stronger Together” Clinician Video Series
Following its August rebrand, Medely launched a video series built on conversations between healthcare professionals about collaboration. The shift from platform announcements to community content signals Medely is now investing in clinician retention and loyalty, not just repositioning.
Read about Medely’s Stronger Together series
Executive Commentary / Industry Trends
Shane Jackson: Recruiter-Level Specialization Makes Values Enforceable
On StaffingHub’s The Staffing Show, the Jackson Healthcare president explained that pushing specialization down to the recruiter level is what makes company values operational. The point for peer CEOs: culture at scale is an organizational design decision, and expertise gains value as transactional work automates.
Read about Shane Jackson’s values-as-strategy frameworkMedical Solutions Holds Second Top Affiliate Summit in Omaha
Medical Solutions brought its affiliate partners together for a second annual summit and recognized LRS Healthcare, TotalMed, and Triage Staffing with awards. A second year makes the affiliate model an institutional channel, and specialty firms outside a top platform’s preferred network face shrinking access to large accounts.
Read about the Medical Solutions Affiliate SummitIngenovis Health’s Corazon Ranks #3 Among Suppliers on Best Places to Work
Modern Healthcare named Corazon, Ingenovis Health’s cardiovascular staffing and consulting brand, a 2026 Best Place to Work, ranking it third among healthcare suppliers with a Special Community Award. In one of the tightest clinician supply markets, employer brand is a recruiting asset with measurable value.
Read about Corazon’s Best Places to Work ranking
Leadership Changes
MUSC Health-Pee Dee Division Names Jason Cox Permanent CEO
Cox, previously COO and interim CEO, took the permanent role on September 22, overseeing four facilities in the Florence, South Carolina region, where the division posted MUSC Health’s highest employee engagement scores three years running. Removing the interim label gives staffing suppliers a stable decision-maker heading into 2027 budgeting.
Read about Jason Cox’s appointment
Legal / Regulatory
Bipartisan Push to Delay New Jersey’s Revised ABC Test Before October 1
Senate President Nicholas Scutari and three Republican lawmakers are asking Gov. Mikie Sherrill to delay the revised independent contractor rule, with Republicans proposing July 1, 2027. Firms using New Jersey contractors should prepare for October 1 regardless.
Read about the New Jersey contractor rule delay request
AI Regulation Watch
Connecticut’s AI Hiring Provisions Go Live October 1
Public Act 26-15 requires deployers to disclose AI interactions in plain language, give written notice before automated tools substantially influence employment decisions, and conduct anti-bias testing, with enforcement beginning October 1, 2027. Firms screening candidates for Connecticut placements have a year to comply, starting next week.
Read about Connecticut’s automated employment decision lawColorado SB 26-189 Takes Effect January 1, 2027
The law requires notice before automated decision-making technology is used, a plain-language explanation within 30 days of an adverse outcome, a right to correct inaccurate data, and a right to meaningful human review. Staffing firms with Colorado operations have roughly 14 weeks to build compliant workflows.
Read about Colorado SB 26-189Workday Plaintiffs Move to Certify Four Discrimination Subclasses
On September 14, plaintiffs asked the court to add four subclasses: African American, female, older, and disabled applicants. So far only an age-discrimination group, certified in May 2025, can proceed together; a hearing is set for March 9, 2027. Firms using AI screening should review vendor indemnification terms now.
Read about the Mobley v. Workday certification motionIllinois HB 3773 Remains in Force
Illinois employers must give advance notice whenever AI influences recruitment, hiring, or other employment decisions and must ensure those systems do not discriminate, including through zip code proxies. Records of notices and assessments should be kept for four years.
Read about Illinois HB 3773
On Our Radar
These are the developments we are tracking closely heading into next week and why they matter for the sector.
Connecticut Is the First Live AI Hiring Test: Any AI-assisted sourcing, matching, or screening used for Connecticut placements falls under the new rules from October 1. Firms that cannot document how their tools work, or whether their vendor has contractually assumed compliance duties, are already behind.
The Workday Motion Reframes Vendor Risk: If the court certifies the four subclasses, individual claims become systemic exposure for anyone using comparable screening architecture. Pull your ATS and screening vendor contracts now and confirm who carries liability for AI outputs.
Preferred Supplier Networks Are Closing: AMN’s supplier additions and Medical Solutions’ affiliate awards point to the same structure: top platforms selecting and rewarding a limited partner roster. Regional and specialty firms that have not formalized these relationships should act before the lists settle.
Culture as Engineered Advantage: Shane Jackson’s argument that recruiter-level specialization enforces values is worth circulating inside any leadership team where values live on the wall rather than in the org chart. Jackson Healthcare’s retention edge is designed, not accidental.
