Staffing agencies usually charge between 15 and 30 of the first-year base salary for direct-hire employee placements or 40 and 45 more than a contractor's hourly rate, depending on their business model. The cost of a direct hire agency varies based on how hard it is to find candidates and how long it takes to place them successfully. The length of the contractor assignment determines the contractor markups.br The amount of money a staffing agency will charge for placing a candidate depends on several criteria. Among them are:br br ● Type of positionbr br Higher-level or more specialized positions usually demand higher fees. A placement company, as, would probably charge a larger percentage for putting an executive or highly specialized engineer than for placing an administrative assistant or manufacturing technician.br br ● Difficulty in sourcing peoplebr br The staffing agency may have a harder time locating qualified individuals for a highly specialized position if the talent pool is small. Higher costs correspond to greater work.