Robert Half says staffing revenue returned to adjusted growth in Q3 2026, first since 2022

Robert Half's staffing business grew again in the third quarter of 2026 while its consulting arm shrank. Talent solutions revenue rose 1.6% year on year on an adjusted basis, its first adjusted growth since 2022, the company said on 22 October 2026, while Protiviti's fell 3.3%. Group revenue was $1.359bn, against $1.354bn in Q3 2025, and net income rose to $50m, or $0.49 per share, from $43m, or $0.43.

Adjusted growth rates remove the effects of billing days and currency moves. On that basis, permanent placement revenue rose 5.6% year on year in Q3 2026 and contract talent solutions 1.0%. In contract talent, technology grew 3.9% and finance and accounting 1.5%, while administrative and customer support fell 3.1%. In the United States, total talent solutions grew 2.6%; internationally it fell 0.7%.

Protiviti, the group's consulting arm, shrank in Q3 2026. Its revenue fell 2.9% to $483.5m from $498.1m a year earlier, or 3.3% on an adjusted basis (excluding billing-day and currency effects), though the adjusted decline narrowed from 5.0% in Q2 2026, and president and chief executive officer M. Keith Waddell said demand for risk and compliance consulting services improved during the quarter. Waddell also said company-wide earnings exceeded the midpoint of the company's Q3 2026 guidance. Over the first nine months of 2026, net income was $90m, down from $101m, and dividends paid totalled $179.8m.