How Many Times Has Your Staffing Company Reinvented Itself?

Written by Margaret Steen

The constantly evolving labor market makes a knack for reinvention key to a long-lasting staffing business.

“I’ve had to realign my business several times,” says Laurie Kahn, founder and president of Media Staffing Network, in Scottsdale, Ariz. “You have to be flexible.”

Since she started her business in 1993, Kahn has survived by being able to change.

“When one door closes, another opens,” Kahn says. Before starting her business, she was working as a sales manager for a radio station, bored with her job, when she was fired by a new manager. While she considered what to do next, another station asked her to fill a similar position temporarily. Continue reading →

THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION — APRIL 2012

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Small Businesses Hopeful in the Face of Economic Uncertainty
Insperity Inc. News Release (04/30/12)

Small-business owners are reflecting a mixed sentiment of cautious optimism with a guarded approach to business operations, according to the most recent Business Confidence Survey released on April 30 by Insperity Inc. More than 40% remain unsure about the timing of an economic rebound, although 75% said they are meeting or exceeding the 2012 performance plans they outlined at the first of the year.

April Staffing Up 6.9% From a Year Ago
Staffing employment in April is up 6.9% from April 2011, according to the ASA Staffing Index.

The index value for April is 91, up two points from the 89 reported for March. Since the beginning of 2012, temporary and contract employment has grown 22.0%, according to the index.

To view weekly index data, visit americanstaffing.net.

Economists Upping Their Forecasts for 2012
USA Today (04/12/12)

The U.S. economy will likely grow more quickly this year than previously anticipated, according to USA Today’s quarterly survey of 50 economists. Their median estimates are higher than they were in January for a number of benchmarks including hiring. They think job growth will be about 20% more robust than they did at the beginning of the year. The economists predict average employment gains of about 185,000 per month through December, up 29,000 from their January predictions.

Temporary Work Firms Signal Economy’s Health, Direction
Columbus Dispatch (OH) (04/22/12)

The number of temporary help services jobs has become a closely watched bellwether for the U.S. job market. Since hitting bottom in August 2009, the number of temporary jobs has been rising steadily. Combined, U.S. staffing companies employed an average of 2.8 million temporary and contract workers per day in 2011—up 8% from the previous year, the American Staffing Association reported last month. “Through career counseling, training, employment, and job placement, staffing and recruiting companies add value to people’s lives across every sector and occupation,” says Richard Wahlquist, the association’s president and chief executive officer. Industry sales totaled $98.3 billion in 2011—12.4% more than in 2010.

Cherie Nelson, senior business development manager for Kelly Services, says that “the fact that we are seeing the same slow, cautious increase in our business—meaning staffing of direct-hire, temporary-to-hire, and temporary employees—is a great indicator to me that the economy is on the mend.”

No Double-Dip Deja Vu Seen for U.S. Economy
Bloomberg BusinessWeek (04/16/12) Rich Miller

The economy seems more stable this year than it did last year. Company and household balance sheets are stronger, and retail sales are rising. “The recovery seems more broad-based in the U.S.,” says Jonas Prising, president of the Americas at ManpowerGroup. “I see it across industries and I see it across geographies.” Risk also is lower, he notes. “The external environment and the factors that affected it last year are a lot less severe this year.”

Green Jobs Creation Slower Than Expected
Reuters (04/13/12) Andy Sullivan

Three years after the Obama administration launched a push to build a job-creating “green” economy, the millions of jobs predicted have been slow to become reality. A $500 million job-training program has so far helped fewer than 20,000 people find work, far short of its goal. The White House said in November 2010 that its clean-energy efforts had generated work for 225,000 people and would ultimately create a total of 827,000 “job years”—implying average annual employment of around 200,000 over the four years of Obama’s presidential term. White House officials stand by that estimate and say job creation is only one aspect of the clean-energy push.

Backers of the notion of a “green collar” work force argue that earth-friendly energy is a promising growth sector that could create a bounty of stable, middle-class jobs and fill the gap left by manufacturing work that has moved overseas. However, Darren Divine, vice president for academics at the College of Southern Nevada, says the fields of health care, education, and technology are likely to provide the best employment prospects in the years to come.

The Rise of the Independent Work Force
New York Times (04/14/12) Alexandra Levit

Around 31% of the U.S. work force is independent or contingent, including temporary workers, contractors, and the self-employed, according to a 2006 government report. Contingent workers were favored by employers during the recent recession because hiring them helped hold down costs, and they are not likely to go away given that employers remain hesitant to hire permanent employees.

Temporary Employment Hiring Is Improving
Daily Markets (04/10/12) Mark Perry

The American Staffing Association’s weekly Staffing Index of temporary and contract employment increased to a year-to-date high of 90 for the week ending April 1, nearly 6% above the year-ago level and 0.74% above the previous week. This was the highest week 14 reading since 2008, and just a bit below the 91 index level for the comparable week in 2007. The upward trend in the ASA Staffing Index this year and the upward trend in temporary employment for the last two years suggest that conditions in the labor market will continue to improve.