By Craig Johnson

The FIFA World Cup soccer tournament, one of the world’s most noteworthy sporting events, is expected to boost local economies in the US, Canada and Mexico, which are hosting the games. Some staffing firms are benefitting from the trickle-down effects.

“The World Cup is definitely creating a meaningful bump,” Danny Murrell, CEO and founder of Harrison Staffing, an event staffing company based in Toronto, said in an email to SIA before the prestigious soccer tournament kicked off on Thursday. “On our side alone, we’re expecting to staff around 130 people a day to support the Canada Soccer House activation at the Toronto Harbourfront, and to do that we’re hiring roughly 100 to 150 additional people on top of our regular operations,” Murrell said.

Events like this “create a lot of energy in the market,” he said, and workers are motivated by both the opportunity and the excitement of being involved in something the entire country is talking about. “This is the largest FIFA event in history,”Luis Gomez, general manager of New York-based NYE Staffing, said in an interview with SIA. “FIFA already estimates 6.5 million people attending the 104 matches. We are talking about a lot of people.”

The World Cup will generate 824,000 full-time equivalent roles worldwide, 185,000 of which will be in the US, according to a 2025 [forecast by FIFA](https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/152f754a8e1b3727/original/FIFA-World-Cup-2026-Socioeconomic-impact-analysis.pdf ). In Canada, the tournament will create about 24,100 jobs, FIFA said in a [2024 report](https://inside.fifa.com/organisation/news/fifa-world-cup-26-to-deliver-estimated-cad-3-8bn-in-economic-output-for-canada?requester=MediaHub&entryId=2s1Vqr1OmKzSEz9QGup5nF ). Hospitality staffing platform Oysterlink reported its hospitality and event-related hiring rose 30% in May compared to the January-April average across the 11 US World Cup host metros. That compares to a 24% increase in metro areas that aren’t hosting matches. “The biggest surges are in Philadelphia (+83%), Boston (+61%), and Atlanta (+55%),” the company said in a statement to SIA. “Hotel managers, event coordinators, valets/delivery drivers and front-of-house restaurant staff are leading the growth.” The US added the most hospitality jobs in three years in May, [Bloomberg reported](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-05/world-cup-likely-gave-a-lift-to-blowout-us-canada-jobs-numbers ). Canada also saw a jump

Inside and Out

Staffing is needed outside the stadiums as well as inside them. “When you have a huge event like the World Cup — and, say, with the Olympic Games and other festivals — the staffing demand expands to hotels,” Carlos Pereira, project manager at NYE Staffing, said in an interview. “People need more workforce for the hotels. People have needs at restaurants. More people will come to your restaurant.”

Economywide boost

Events such as the FIFA World Cup will bring an economic boost to staffing firms and beyond, Nina Vaca, CEO and chairman of staffing firm Pinnacle Group, said in an email to SIA. “The World Cup is creating significant workforce demand across multiple industries,” Vaca said.

Vaca is co-chair of the North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee; Dallas is one of the venues hosting World Cup games. Some 14,000 jobs will besupported in North Texas alone with many of these temporary or project-based, she said. “The scale and complexity of an event like the World Cup requires organizations to scale talent quickly, efficiently and often on very short timelines,” Vaca said. “Staffing firms provide access to specialized talent pools, workforce planning expertise, contingent labor management and operational flexibility.” Customers are also looking for more than people. They want workforce partners that can help them forecast demand, manage fluctuating staffing needs and deliver qualified talent at scale. “The World Cup is a perfect example of why agile workforce solutions have become so important,” Vaca said. “Success depends on having the right people in the right place at the right time, and staffing firms play a critical role in making that happen.” It will also boost other parts of the economy. “As someone who has spent her career focused on creating economic opportunity through work, that’s what excites me most: helping ensure that this global event creates meaningful opportunities for businesses, workers and communities long after the final match is played,” she said.

There are also VIP tents and fan festivals, said Pereira, who has personally worked in hospitality in the past. Companies need brand ambassadors as well as staff for their hospitality houses and private individuals to host game-related events. Such activities often require registration staff, guest experience workers, cleaners and more. [Los Angeles](https://mayor.lacity.gov/news/mayor-bass-announces-casa-mexico-first-official-hospitality-house-during-2026-fifa-world-cup ), for example, is hosting a hospitality house for Mexico to showcase that country’s culture. It is open to the public. Stadiums are also important and NYE is providing staffing services to a catering company for one section of Seattle’s stadium. For Harrison Staffing, the service and event-support side has the biggest need for workers, Murrell said. “For Harrison Staffing, that means many bartenders, along with servers and bussers, plus other public-facing staff supporting the overall experience,” he said. “There’s also a brand ambassador aspect to it.”And these workers aren’t just serving guests — they represent Canada to visitors from all over the world. “That’s a big part of the appeal, too,” Murrell said. “People are excited by the idea that they’re contributing to the atmosphere of a major global event.”

Attracting Workers

The games are high-profile events, which are attractive to talent. “Who doesn’t want to be there? It’s the biggest event in sport history,” said NYE Staffing’s Gomez, who has worked in hospitality. “I think this event is going to bring a lot of value to the résumé.” But those workers need the qualifications and skills, he said, and bilingual staff will be particularly valuable given the international audience coming to the World Cup.

Staffing firms need to be prepared and organized as well. There are many aspects to track. For example, a large and crowded stadium may mean difficulty getting a cell phone signal. “You only understand this because you live this part of the staffing industry,” Pereira said. Thinking ahead means tasks such as “creating floor plans of where to go, maps; point of contact; alternative point of contact; where to go; what are your expectations?” Staff also have questions about whether they should bring their own food or water. Communication and using the right technology will be key given the possible cell phone issue.

Tempered Excitement

While the World Cup is generating excitement among fans, high ticket prices, difficult international travel and other factors may be weighing on some economic impact. A majority of hotels surveyed in host markets, 80%, say bookings for the World Cup period are tracking below initial forecasts, according to a report released in May by the [American Hotel and Lodging Association](https://www.ahla.com/resource/us-hotel-outlook-report-fifa-world-cup-2026 ). In Kansas City, roughly 85% to 90% of respondents reported a booking pace below expectations — below even a typical June or July without any major events.

The full economic impact to staffing and other parts of the economy won’t fully be known until after the games. The World Cup takes place across 16 host cities in the US, Canada and Mexico and runs through July 19.

This article, written by Craig Johnson, was published in SIA’s Global Daily News on June 19.

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