American Staffing Association News

As employers look for an economic recovery on the horizon, hiring temporary workers is a way to take advantage of new business opportunities efficiently, experts said.

Options for even the most skilled workers are dwindling in the United States as the world's largest economy sheds jobs in the face of recession. According to one staffing executive, this is forcing many to explore job opportunities in places they traditionally would not relocate to.

Staffing executives from firms that serve different sectors discuss how the recession has affected business in Polk County.

Although the U.S. economy is losing jobs at a slower rate, unemployment could still exceed 10%, said Tig Gilliam, chief executive officer of ASA member Adecco North America.

A Landisville staffing company will pay $28,446 in back wages to 61 workers, along with a civil penalty of $22,814, to resolve overtime and record-keeping violations, according to the federal Department of Labor.

Shares of several staffing companies fell Wednesday as service companies reported shrinking business activity that could prolong high rates of joblessness, an analyst said Wednesday.

Eighty-two percent of CIOs find contracts valuable for evaluating prospective employees, according to an IT staffing firm.

One staffing firm owner predicts the work force of the future is more likely to have what she calls portfolio careers—whereby individuals will do a combination of things, such as freelance and temporary work, and piece them together to create a full-time work week.

The nature of the temporary staffing industry cycles in a way that mimics the nation's economic model. As such, the temporary staffing industry has been dramatically affected by the recent economic downturn. (Note: This article appears on pages 18-22.)

South Carolina staffing firms are looking to put people to work as companies begin to hire.

Older workers need flexibility, but often fail to get it. In the case of one mature worker, however, a staffing firm offered her a way to re-enter the work force and maintain the schedule that she wanted.

The Massachusetts economy has hit bottom and begun a recovery. One sign of this: temporary employment, which economists consider a leading indicator of the future of the job market and which has risen in each of the past two months, according to state labor statistics.

Companies are having a hard time hiring for some positions, despite growing unemployment, according to a staffing executive.

Even as the national business lobby ramps up its opposition to health-care reform, there are signs that employers around the country are divided on the issue. Kelly Services came out in support of a mandate on employers to provide health insurance, noting that health-care reform would likely expand the company's talent pool because it would be easier for workers to purchase individual coverage, thus making them more open to temporary work.

While unemployment is still high for the Triangle region of North Carolina, there are signs that the worst of the recession may have passed—one of those signs is an uptick in temporary employment.

The largest hospital system in North Texas has formed a staffing firm with an Arlington-based medical staffing company to both save money and fix its nursing shortage.

Britain's unemployment rate has soared to 2.38 million, with young people accounting for 20% of the unemployed. Many have turned to part-time and temporary work, which, according to a representative from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, are vital during recessionary times.

A Toyota plant is once again hiring temporary employees—a move that one staffing firm suggests may indicate a slight uptick in the local employment marketing.

Demand for temporary and contract employees remained relatively unchanged from June to July, continuing the stabilization trend in staffing employment noted over the past six months.