🧑💼 Staffing Agency Profit Calculator
Staffing is one of the clearest business models on the planet: you bill the client one rate, pay the worker another, and the spread (minus payroll burden) is yours. This is the exact math behind every placement, straight from the industry Dee built her name in.
Gross margin per year (all placements)
$110,656
Gross margin per hour, per placement
$10.64
Gross margin per week (all placements)
$2,128
Your markup
58.3%
Each placement earns you $11 an hour after burden. 5 placements working 40 hours a week is $2,128 a week, $110,656 a year, and the workers do the work while you fill the next order.
Estimates for planning, not financial advice. Your real numbers will vary; that is exactly why you track them.
Good questions about this math
What is a normal markup in staffing?
Most agencies bill 40 to 75 percent over the pay rate depending on the role and market; light industrial often runs lower, healthcare and IT higher. A $24 pay rate billed at $38 is a 58 percent markup, right in the healthy zone.
What is payroll burden?
Everything employing the worker costs beyond their wage: payroll taxes, workers comp, unemployment insurance, and any benefits. In most states it lands between 12 and 18 percent of the pay rate, which is why it is built into this calculator.
How do I start a staffing agency?
It is one of the strongest ideas in our library. Read the full staffing agency roadmap on the ideas page, then let the platform build your week-by-week launch checklist free.
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