WestwardAI Consulting

Local market data · Recruiting agencies · Philadelphia

AI for recruiting agencies in Philadelphia

The Philadelphia metro area had 147 recruiting agencies in 2022, the 8th most of 215 US metros and 2% of all in the country. They employed 3,015 people at an average of $69,223 a year. 64% 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 Philadelphia vs the US

Philadelphia metroUnited States
Businesses1477,030
People employed3,015271,104
Average staff per business20.538.6
Average yearly pay per employee$69,223$49,499
Share with fewer than 10 staff64%68%

Pay here is 40% 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 20.5 people on payroll, 47% lower than the US figure of 38.6.

How big recruiting agencies in Philadelphia are

Fewer than 5 staff76 (52%) US 57%
5 to 918 (12%) US 11%
10 to 1920 (14%) US 9%
20 to 4916 (11%) US 10%
50 or more15 (10%) US 13%

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

Recruiting agencies by county in the Philadelphia area

Montgomery County has the most, with 42 of the metro's 147 (29%). Among the 10 big metros on this page, Philadelphia ranks 3rd for average pay and 8th for the share of small firms.

CountyBusinessesEmployeesAvg pay
Montgomery County42896$91,039
Philadelphia County30987$67,088
Chester County18171$69,696
New Castle County1399$89,687
Bucks County1263$51,810
Delaware County11302$52,937
Camden County8103$59,447
Burlington County7132$51,508
Gloucester County6262$30,340

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 Philadelphia

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

Those hours cost you$277,200 a year

The share you would hand off$83,160 a year

Hours your team gets back2,520 a year

See what we would build for this

Guides for recruiting agencies, one job each

Recruiting agencies in other big metros

MetroBusinessesAvg payRank of 387
Los Angeles553$71,3282nd
New York633$58,5961st
Chicago310$64,4443rd
Miami265$53,4334th
Dallas242$47,4426th
Houston214$55,0787th
Atlanta244$46,9235th
Washington133$59,94310th
Boston144$97,2789th

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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area (11 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.

Related businesses in Philadelphia

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