Business phone system for temporary help services in Illinois

How many temporary help services operate in Illinois

Illinois had 1,511 temporary help services in 2023, according to Census County Business Patterns (NAICS 561320, Temporary Help Services). They employed 195,433 people in mid-March and reported $7.9 billion in annual payroll. That is the 6th highest count among the 51 states and DC with published figures. Temporary help services make up 0.47% of the 322,415 business establishments in the state.

Per 100,000 residents (2024 estimate) Illinois has 11.9 temporary help services, 5.7% above the national rate of 11.2. The average establishment has 129.3 employees against 95.3 nationally. Payroll per employee is $40,209, 17.3% below the U.S. figure of $48,635.

Temporary help services by metro area in Illinois

Census published temporary staffing agency counts for 25 metro or micropolitan areas that include part of Illinois. The largest is Chicago, IL-IN, with 1,071 establishments (a multi-state area; its count covers every state it spans). Single-state metro and micropolitan areas account for 15% of the statewide total; the rest are outside any published area or in areas Census suppressed.

Team sizes at temporary help services in Illinois

33.6% of Illinois's temporary help services with employees had fewer than five people in March 2023, compared with 37.2% nationally. 41.0% had fewer than ten. That is the size of team where a missed call usually means nobody was free, not that nobody was on staff.

Calls a temporary staffing agency in Illinois has to catch

Staffing agencies fill shifts on short notice, so the phone is constantly in use with workers and clients. Early-morning call-outs require quick action. That holds for temporary help services in Illinois as much as anywhere.

Calls a temporary staffing agency in Illinois might handle in a typical week include:

• A client calls for extra workers tomorrow.
• A worker calls about a paycheck.
• A worker calls out sick before a shift.

After-hours calls

Call-outs and shift requests arrive early and late, so after-hours routing matters.

Callata voicemail is transcribed and triaged for urgency, and business-hours routing decides where calls go once you close.

What a phone system costs a temporary staffing agency in Illinois

Temporary help services in Illinois average 129.3 employees, so the comparison uses a 129-person team. On a per-user plan that headcount sets the bill: $3,218.55 a month on Ooma Office Pro or $3,870.00 on RingCentral RingEX Core at list price (checked September 28, 2026). On Callata the same 129 people cost $2,579.00 a month, less than either per-seat plan.

The annual difference against RingCentral's monthly list price comes to $15,492. Some vendors discount annual contracts; the table shows month-to-month prices.

Area codes in Illinois

Illinois has 17 geographic area codes in service according to NANPA. You can choose local numbers in the area codes your workers and clients know, subject to carrier inventory, or port your current number for free.

How Callata works for temporary help services in Illinois

Callata Office costs $99 per month for up to 5 people, and each additional user is $20 a month. That covers up to 3 local numbers, calling from a browser or your cell, transcribed voicemail, recorded calls with AI summaries, after-hours routing and E911 on each number.

If you already have a number in Illinois, porting it to Callata is free. Texting from a local number requires a one-time carrier registration (10DLC, $49), and the numbers available in any area code depend on carrier inventory when you choose them.

Optional AI agents (receptionist, sales, support or scheduler) can answer calls after hours or when nobody picks up, take messages, text, email and transfer to your team. They are billed from prepaid AI minutes at $0.25 per minute, identify themselves as AI, and may only place outbound calls to people who consented, between 8am and 9pm.