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Temporary workers near US record

The U.S. has added 913,200 temporary workers since the end of the recession in June 2009 — about 19 percent of all new jobs. Their number rose to 2.66 million in April, about 11,300 shy of the April 2000 record, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics figures released May 3.Staffing industry revenue will increase 6 percent annually the next two years to $139.4 billion in 2014, based on an April 9 estimate by Staffing Industry Analysts.

Source: NYSA News

More Corporate Economists See Increased Hiring in Next Six Months—NABE Survey

A significant economic slowdown may not materialize this spring after all, according to the National Association for Business Economics. A NABE survey of corporate economists released Monday found U.S. companies are more optimistic about the economy and plan to hire. Some 40% of those surveyed say their company or sector intends to boost hiring in the next six months. Just 9% intend to lay off employees.

"Overall business activity has been expanding for well over three years...we're at the point where companies can no longer just pay overtime, and need to go hire more people," says Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America.

Almost two-thirds of the economists surveyed forecast the economy will grow at a pace faster than 2% in the next year, up from 50% that projected similarly strong growth in a January survey.

 

Source: Wall Street Journal

Labor Forecast Predicts 5.9% Increase in Demand for Temporary Workers

Demand for temporary workers in the U.S. is expected to increase 5.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the 2013 second quarter, when compared with the same period in 2013, according to the Palmer Forecast.

The Palmer Forecast indicated a 4.7% increase in temporary help for the just-ended 2013 first quarter. Actual results came in as slightly higher at a 6.0% increase. Results, in part, reflected increasing uncertainty on behalf of employers with respect to permanent hiring.

Temporary help created approximately 11.0% of new jobs reported since the recovery began, and 23% in March, while representing only about 2% of the total labor market. There is also speculation among temporary industry veterans that the increase could be an early sign of the anticipated positive impact on temporary labor relative to the Affordable Care Act, planned for implementation in 2014. At such time, companies may begin to increase the use of temporary labor as a strategic measure to offset anticipated increases in health care costs.

Source: American Staffing Association

US temp jobs rise, growth rate ticks up

U.S. temporary employment jumped by 20,300 jobs in March, compared with the previous month, and the year-over-year growth rate ticked up, according to seasonally adjusted numbers released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In addition, the number of temp jobs added in February was revised upward by 22,000 jobs.

Year-over-year growth in temp jobs had been decelerating since November. However, the number of temp jobs rose by 6.4 percent year over year in March, up from the 5.3 percent increase in February.

Further, the U.S. temp penetration rate rose to 1.94 percent in March from 1.93 percent in February.

Source: Staffing Industry Analysts

Staffing Employment Rose in February

Seasonally adjusted employment data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that staffing firms added 16,000 new jobs from January to February (up 0.6%). In a year-to-year comparison, temporary help employment for the month was 4.4% higher than in February 2012. Over the previous 12 months, the temporary help industry has added an average of 9,100 jobs per month to the economy.

“Staffing and recruiting firms continued to play an important role in February in helping job seekers find short-term, long-term, and permanent work,” says Richard Wahlquist, president and chief executive officer of the American Staffing Association. “Although the jobs report was stronger than expected, businesses remain cautious about hiring with continued uncertainty about federal policy.”

Employment growth was mostly driven by new job creation in professional and business services (+73,000), construction (+48,000), health care (+32,000), retail trade (+24,000), and information (+20,000). Employment in other major industries showed little change over the month.

Source: American Staffing Association

An Employer's Guide to Telling Time—a Brief Explanation of Which Hours Must Be Counted When Determining Overtime Eligibility

To determine whether nonexempt employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek and to minimize their overtime exposure under the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers must consider job-related activities regardless of whether they are performed before or after the employee's specified work schedule, such as filling out time, material, or requisition sheets; checking job locations; removing trash; changing into and out of work clothes; and fueling vehicles.

The time employees spend waiting around because there is no work to do is compensable work time, and employees also must be paid for stand-by time during machinery breakdowns or temporary work shut-downs. Time spent on-call if the worker must remain on or close to the employer's premises and cannot use their time for themselves is compensable time, as are short break periods when employees are not completely relieved from duty.

If employers allow employees to voluntarily work before their shift starts, work through unpaid breaks, or work after their shift ends, they must include these hours in overtime calculations.

Source: American Staffing Association

ASA Staffing Index Monthly Report, January 2013

Staffing employment in January is up 3.7% from the same month last year, according to the ASA Staffing Index.

The index value for the month of January is 89, indicating that staffing employment is approximately 4.3% less than that reported for December, a typical seasonal decline.

The ASA Staffing index is reported nine days after each workweek, making it a virtual real-time measure of staffing employment trends. ASA research shows that staffing employment is a coincident economic indicator and leading employment indicator.

Source: American Staffing Association

Employers Must Update Background Check Forms by Jan. 1 to Avoid Liability

Under new Fair Credit Reporting Act regulations, employers that conduct background checks have until Jan. 1 to begin using a new FCRA Summary of Rights form, which must be enclosed when issuing pre-adverse action notices or disclosing that they will obtain investigative consumer reports relating to the applicant or employee. When providing a pre-adverse action notice, employers must include a copy of the consumer report along with the FCRA Summary of Rights. When disclosing that investigative consumer reports will be obtained, employers must inform applicants and employees of their right to request additional information about the investigation and make a certification to the credit reporting agency that it has a permissible purpose for obtaining such reports.

Source: American Staffing Association

'Temporary to Permanent Strategy' a Trend Job Seekers Are Exploring

Since the recession, 35% of U.S. companies have shrunk their permanent staff, according to a survey by CareerBuilder.com, an ASA corporate partner, and many of these firms are recruiting temporary and contract workers. Around 36% of businesses will hire temporary workers this year, marking a gain from 34% last year, 30% in 2010, and 28% in 2009; and 35% of firms plan to retain these employees permanently. Donna Rebello, president of Advance Career Services, says more employers are hiring temporary workers to try them out before deciding whether to hire them on a permanent basis. She notes, "I think people who are looking for work are just starting to come around to the idea."

Source: Herald News

ASA Staffing Index Monthly Report

Staffing employment in September is up 5.1% from September 2011, according to the ASA Staffing Index. The index value for the month of September is 95, indicating that staffing employment is approximately 2.4% higher than that reported for August. Typically, staffing employment peaks between mid-November and mid-December each year, after which it dramatically declines for several weeks before turning upward in mid-January. According to the index, since the beginning of 2012, temporary and contract employment has grown 26.6%.

Source: American Staffing Association