Local market data · Recruiting agencies · Los Angeles

AI for recruiting agencies in Los Angeles

The Los Angeles metro area had 553 recruiting agencies in 2022, the 2nd most of 215 US metros and 8% of all in the country. They employed 6,818 people at an average of $71,328 a year. 80% have fewer than 10 staff, so the same few people answer the phone, book, follow up and do the paperwork. Those are the jobs AI tools take on today.

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Recruiting agencies in Los Angeles vs the US

	Los Angeles metro	United States
Businesses	553	7,030
People employed	6,818	271,104
Average staff per business	12.3	38.6
Average yearly pay per employee	$71,328	$49,499
Share with fewer than 10 staff	80%	68%

Pay here is 44% higher than the national average for recruiting agencies, so every hour of staff time costs more to spend on admin. The average recruiting agency here has 12.3 people on payroll, 68% lower than the US figure of 38.6.

How big recruiting agencies in Los Angeles are

Fewer than 5 staff379 (69%) US 57%

5 to 961 (11%) US 11%

10 to 1939 (7%) US 9%

20 to 4939 (7%) US 10%

50 or more35 (6%) US 13%

Businesses with paid employees, by number of employees, March 2022.

Recruiting agencies by county in the Los Angeles area

Los Angeles County has the most, with 436 of the metro's 553 (79%). Among the 10 big metros on this page, Los Angeles ranks 2nd for average pay and 2nd for the share of small firms.

County	Businesses	Employees	Avg pay
Los Angeles County	436	4,823	$74,851
Orange County	117	1,995	$62,812

Census withholds pay where few firms would make it identifiable.

Where AI helps a recruiting agency first

A recruiting agency gets the most from AI on the repetitive parts of the desk: capturing job orders, answering candidates, scheduling interviews and chasing feedback. Relationships and judgment stay with the recruiter, and a person should make every decision about a candidate. Start with the work that makes recruiters stay late.

What your team's admin hours cost in Los Angeles

Change any number. The starting values are the Los Angeles averages above; the hours and the share are yours to set.

People on your teamStarts at the Los Angeles average for a recruiting agencyHours each spends a week on phones, booking, follow-up and paperwork8 is a starting guess. Put in your ownCost of one hour of their time ($)Starts at the Los Angeles average pay, from Census payrollShare of those hours you would hand to AI: 30%Your call. We tell you on the call what is realistic for your recruiting agency

Those hours cost you$163,200 a year

The share you would hand off$48,960 a year

Hours your team gets back1,440 a year

See what we would build for this

Guides for recruiting agencies, one job each

Recruiting agencies in other big metros

Metro	Businesses	Avg pay	Rank of 387
New York	633	$58,596	1st
Chicago	310	$64,444	3rd
Miami	265	$53,433	4th
Dallas	242	$47,442	6th
Houston	214	$55,078	7th
Atlanta	244	$46,923	5th
Washington	133	$59,943	10th
Philadelphia	147	$69,223	8th
Boston	144	$97,278	9th

Where these numbers come from

From the U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2022 (released 2024), industry code NAICS 561311 (Employment placement agencies), for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area (2 counties). It counts businesses with paid employees in March 2022, so solo owners with no payroll are not in it. Average pay is total yearly payroll divided by employees. The calculator uses 50 working weeks and 2,080 hours a year. Page checked 2026-11-12.

Find the hours your agency can get back

A free 30-minute call. You leave knowing which part of your recruiting agency to hand to AI first, what we would build, and roughly how long it takes.

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