Temperatures here in Chicago are finally expected to creep around the 90s this weekend (you know, just to give us a glimpse of summer). Of course, sweltering heat also falls squarely on the city’s annual Lollapalooza festival at Grant Park. I’ll be bringing my BFF, water, in full force. On the non-music front, it looks like things are also heating up — for staffing firms in the health care field, according to CareerBuilder’s newly released Staffing Supply and Demand Outlook. This report tracks current and projected use of staffing firms by employers and job candidates.  Here are some highlights from what will be a quarterly release:

Industry Expectations

• Expected utilization of staffing firms by hiring managers for permanent, full-time positions is reported to be higher in health care and industrial full-time positions over the 2nd quarter
• Office/clerical, technology and professional placements are remaining stable
• No sectors plan to decrease their use of staffing firms
• Temporary hiring in health care is expected to experience the largest gain, with 13 percent more employers expecting to utilize staffing firms this quarter than last.
• Use of staffing firms by employers to find temporary professional positions are reported to increase by 11 percent quarter-over-quarter

Permanent and Temporary Hiring

Of the 13 percent of those hiring managers who say they expect to use a staffing firm over the next three months, nearly one in ten expect to do so to help in their search for permanent full-time employees in the upcoming quarter. Both findings are on par with findings from the second quarter.

In addition:

• Six percent of hiring managers expect to utilize a staffing firm to help fill temporary or contract positions in the upcoming quarter, up slightly from 5 percent in the second quarter.
• Nearly 9 percent of hiring managers in large organizations (500+ employees) expect to hire temporary or contract employees through a staffing firm in the third quarter, compared to just over 7 percent a quarter ago.

“As the U.S. works toward a healthier financial picture, the outlook for the staffing industry is holding steady overall with encouraging movement in some areas,” said Todd McCormick, president of the Recruiter Business Unit and Canadian operations at CareerBuilder. “While remaining cautious in their hiring pace, employers are more optimistic about their use of staffing firms in the fall as they seek out talent to fill interim and long-term positions.”

Job seeker plans

As competition for jobs is fierce, job seekers are thinking outside their comfort zones and seeking new ways to get in front of employers–and staffing firm usage is just one example of this. More and more job seekers are looking to staffing firms to supplement their job search, and nearly one in four say they plan to use a staffing or recruiting firm as part of their search this quarter, up from 22 percent in the last quarter.

Of those not currently using a staffing firm, more than half indicate they would if they were still searching three months from now. Job seekers in the technical, IT and scientific sector continue to be most open to using a staffing firm in their job search, with 34 percent indicating they would consider staffing as part of their search strategy.  The most hesitant job seekers? Those in the industrial sector; four in five say they are not willing to consider working with a staffing firm as part of their search.

One thing is clear — the ways job seekers are searching for jobs is changing along with our economic landscape, and staffing firms are becoming more recognizable and regarded as a worthwhile supplement to a competitive and complex job market.

Want the full report? Access the entire Staffing Supply and Demand Outlook.