Professional Employer Organization (PEO) Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Type (Full Service PEO, Administrative Services Organization), By Service Type (Human Capital Management, Payroll Services, Regulatory Compliance, Risk Management, Withholding & Taxation, Insurance Services, Others), By Business Size (Small Businesses (SMBs), Mid-sized Enterprises, Large Corporations) and By Region(North America, Europe, APAC, Middle East and Africa, LATAM) Forecasts, 2023-2031

Market Overview

The professional employer organization (PEO) market size was valued at USD 59.62 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 152.14 billion by 2031, with a CAGR of 11.10% during the forecast period, (2023–2031).

The global Professional Employer Organization (PEO) market is growing and used by enterprises of all sizes in the HR and workforce management sector. Companies can outsource payroll, benefits, compliance, and employee relations to PEOs and focus on their core operations. Employment requirements are becoming more complex, businesses want cost-effective HR solutions, and they need experienced HR help pushing the PEO market. As the global workforce becomes more dispersed and flexible, PEOs are well-positioned to meet the changing needs of employers and employees. Market expansion will continue as firms streamline HR operations and adjust to shifting employment trends.

The professional employer organization market will grow as we understand the importance of these services to reduce administrative expenses and limit turnover.

Market Dynamics

Global PEO Market Drivers

Increasing Number of SMEs to Surge the Growth of PEO Market

Many entrepreneurs outsource their HR and payroll functions to PEO companies to focus more on their business growth. The PEO Market is relied upon to develop quickly given the consistent turn of events and development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) worldwide. These SMEs form 95% of the existing organizations around the globe and generate around 60%–70% of job opportunities contributing to the overall economic growth.

SMEs are predicted to create over 600 million job opportunities by 2030; hence, governments worldwide need to assist them in their development. They frequently come short on fundamental assets required for taking care of issues that could add to their prosperity—for example, smoothing out activities dealing with managerial errands. Numerous business people decide to re-appropriate their HR and finance capacities to PEO organizations to develop their business. This way, SMEs are essential for the growth of the Global PEO market.

Decrease in Overall Operational to be a Major Challenge for the Market

As the organization shifts to these services, they lose control over its critical functions. They also become more dependent on the organizations for these fundamental business capacities, resulting in delays in certain activities like the payroll. When choosing these services, the employer gives up administrative and employee-related activities control.

This results in less interaction with the employees comparatively. The issues, complaints, and feedbacks are not directly addressed to the top management or the business owner and hence take time to resolve. This sounds valid in numerous advanced organizations today. The PEO market is also kept down by the deficiency of control of the vita processes and people since they will be unable to deal with the expanding information input and output.

Global PEO Market Opportunity

Advancement in Technologies to Create Growth Opportunities in the Market

It has become a basic necessity for organizations to screen, track, and assess information to guarantee overall operational efficiency in the current business environment. Advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, augmented reality, virtual reality, and automated systems will be responsible for significant development in this market. The main pattern in the worldwide PEO industry is the expanding interest in mechanized mechanical frameworks that would smooth out the task flow of the organization.

As of late, the interest in PEOs has expanded. Many huge organizations have a high turnover pace of representatives, which prompts a significant expense. Under these conditions, these organizations offer expert services to their clients, including risk management, payroll, administrative support, and so on.

Regional Analysis

Significant Growth in North America and Europe

North America has acquired the largest share of the market in 2021. The reception of Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) in SMEs is one of the essential elements driving the development. PEOs permit entrepreneurs to get more out of their expert advantages, regardless of whether by smoothing out HR administrations for medical care organizations or overseeing numerous parts of HR for different organizations. 

Medical care suppliers prefer PEO services as they are a practical option in contrast to business-to-business administrations. The rising prominence of PEOs in the medical services area is relied upon to set out gigantic open doors in the regional market. The North American Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.24% during the forecast time frame.

In Europe, the driving factor for the PEO market is the rising trend of outsourcing expert services as they help in smooth functioning and the businesses and cut down operational overheads. The expanding predominance of worker benefits has likewise impacted the European Professional Employer Organization Market, which has led to the overall expansion of the market in the region.

Segmental Analysis

The global professional employer organization (PEO) market is segmented by type, service type, business size, and region.

Based on Type

Full-service PEOs offer various human resource functions, including tasks such as payroll processing, administration of benefits, risk management, and compliance support. This type of PEO becomes quite attractive, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses, which generally lack the resources to manage complicated human resource requirements independently. As labour rules and regulations become stringent, enterprises look to PEOs to maintain compliance and prevent legal complications. Regulatory complexity, increasing demand for employee benefits, etc drives the growth in the market. Key players in this segment are ADP TotalSource, Insperity, TriNet, Paychex, Etc.

Administrative Services Organization

ASOs provide administrative and human resource services to firms, but unlike traditional PEOs, they do not co-employ workers. ASOs handle various tasks including payroll processing, benefits administration, employment law compliance, and risk management, allowing businesses to focus on their main operations. The growing complexity of regulations and the need for cost-effective HR solutions are driving the growth of the segment.

Based on Service

The human resource segment delivers comprehensive HR management to enterprises such as recruitment, onboarding, payroll administration, management of benefits, compliance, training, and development of employees, performance management, and employee relation problems. Businesses that outsource HR services can improve operational efficiency, reduce administrative costs, and ensure compliance with complex regulatory requirements. The growing complexity of HR regulations and the increasing emphasis on employee engagement and retention are driving the growth of the segment. Key players in this segment are ADP TotalSource, Vensure HR, Paychex, Etc.

Regulatory compliance is an important service that helps organizations stay in compliance with various laws and regulations. PEO provides expert guidance on handling complex regulatory environments and maintaining compliance with all applicable employment laws and tax regulations, health and safety standards, and other legal requirements. By handling compliance duties, PEOs lower the risk of penalties and legal challenges for their clients, allowing businesses to focus on essential activities. Increasing regulatory complexity, risk mitigation, and cost efficiency drive the growth of the segment. Key players include XcelHR, G&A Partners, Justworks, etc.

The risk management segment plays an important role in mitigating potential liabilities and ensuring compliance with various regulatory requirements. PEOs help businesses identify, assess, and deal with risks related to employment practices, workplace safety, and legal compliance. As regulatory environments become complex, awareness of workplace safety and rising compensation costs drive the growth of the segment.

Employee Benefits

The employee benefits segment includes various services designed to enhance the overall compensation and support package offered to employees such as health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, and other benefits enhancing staff satisfaction and retention. Rising employee expectations, the need for talent attraction & retention, and improved benefits offerings drive the growth of the segment. Key players in this segment include CoAdvantage, Oasis Outsourcing, Justworks, etc.

Based on Enterprise Size

SMEs often leverage PEO services to access a broader range of human resource capabilities which can be difficult to conduct in-house with limited resources. PEOs provide important services such as payroll management, employee benefits, compliance assistance, and risk management which help streamline operations and reduce administrative burdens. Cost-effective solutions, scalability, and regulatory compliance drive the growth of the segment.

Large-sized enterprise is a significant segment, distinguished by their complex needs and large scale. Large enterprises seek PEO services to streamline their human resources functions, manage compliance with diverse regulations, and improve employee benefits. PEOs provide large enterprises with expertise in the management of multi-state compliance, global human resource challenges, and effective employee training and development. Complex compliance needs, global expansion support, advanced HR technologies, etc., drive the growth of the segment.

Impact of covid-19

The improvement of small and medium-scale businesses in emerging countries was because of the favorable government approaches, pulled in interest in developing nations. Further, the new policies regarding low tax rates business aid grew the need for the PEOs. Hence, the PEOs were in demand. 

The first Covid case was accounted for in China, and afterward, it started to spread across the globe. The immense expansion of the cases in a few nations prompted the public authority to carry out rigid standards and guidelines and force a brief lockdown to curb the spread of the disease. Due to a lack of funds, different enterprises began to reduce expenses through layoffs, and the ventures quit recruiting new individuals. This led to unemployment problems in many countries. Furthermore, numerous enterprises shut down, which drastically affected the annual production and revenue.

Because of the severe lockdown, the businesses caused huge misfortunes. The only option to reduce these losses was to reduce expenses significantly. Many individuals needed to work at decreased pay rates. Before the pandemic, the interest in demand for PEOs was ever-increasing. However, the pandemic did not disrupt this market entirely. The years 2020 and 2021 accounted for their good performances as they helped the businesses to survive by cutting the extra costs by efficiently managing their operations.

Market Recovery Post Pandemic and its Challenges

Post Coronavirus, the interest for PEOs was due to job vacancies and the quick recovery of different businesses. Further, different strategies to recover losses and government aid have led to the fast recovery of the economy of many developed and developing nations. The demand for these firms has increased with rising job opportunities and expert recruitment services.

The pandemic has seriously impacted the expert business association market as there was a shutting down of huge enterprises that utilized these administrations. The expansion in infrastructural advancements, the development of a few ventures, and the rising number of small-scale businesses have expanded the extent of these services. The main driving factor for these organizations post-pandemic is the issue of labor turnover.

The key market player is taking on different strides in the pandemic to help the business in this challenging time. As the number of cases rose across the globe, the public authority has carried out explicit guidelines and guidelines and shut down different enterprises. Through mergers and partnerships, these key players are helping each other from the effects of COVID–19. This has considerably helped the quick recovery of these organizations and the economy.

Recent Developments

• January 2022 – Paychex announced a team-up with HireRight to Offer COVID-19 rapid test kits to support businesses managing workplace testing for employees.
• October 2021 – announced the acquisition of Flock, a benefits administration software company. This acquisition will provide cutting-edge benefits administration software that aligns with the company's commitment to driving innovation and providing a suite of digital services.
• February 2021 – Insperity Inc announced a collaboration with Salesforce, a global leader in CRM, to digitally transform its business. The advantages of this strategic collaboration include increased marketing campaigns, improved customer acquisition, and retention, and increased productivity.
• November 2021 – announced the acquisition of Integrated Design, Inc., strengthening its robust HCM and Workforce Management Solutions capabilities.
• October 2021 – INFINITI HR announced a partnership with Tortal Training, increased the need to make effective training easy, and developed interactive eLearning solutions.
• November 2020 – TriNet announced a launch of a Mobile App to simplify open enrollment for an increasingly dispersed SMB workforce that features giving the user greater flexibility to manage TriNet-sponsored benefits and flexible spending account claims and improved account security.
• April 2020 – INFINITI HR announced a joint venture with Quad M Solutions, Inc. (PrimeAxess Inc.), and they will form two subsidiaries: OpenAxess Inc. and PrimeAxess Inc.