Tuesday, August 24, 2010

What a difference a year can make!

Another very good sign for the industry from the American Staffing Association as reported by Staffing Industry Analysts:

“The American Staffing Association's staffing index rose to a reading of 95 in August, up four points from July's reading of 91. The reading is up 27% from the August 2009 reading.

The index measures changes in the number of temporary and contract workers, both weekly and monthly. The monthly measure is taken from the week containing the 12th of the month. Its baseline value of 100 was set in June 2006.”


USA Staffing Services:

To gain that crucial, competitive advantage in a growing market, visit our Web site today.

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2.4 Million Temps Per Day!

And a little more good news from the American Staffing Association as reported by Staffing Industry Analysts:

"Staffing industry employment rose 23.3% on a year-over-year basis in the second quarter of 2010 to an average of 2.4 million temporary and contract workers per day, according to the American Staffing Association's quarterly employment and sales survey. Compared to the first quarter, the number of workers employed is up 18.0%.

‘Even as the pace of economic growth slowed, staffing firms added 360,000 new jobs during the second quarter,’ said ASA president and CEO Richard Wahlquist. ‘This is an encouraging sign that there is still some juice left in this recovery and that businesses across a wide spectrum of sectors continue to experience a slow but sustained uptick in demand for their products and services.’"

USA Staffing Services:
As we have continued to note these past few months, staffing is good business! To gain a crucial competitive advantage is this hot market, check out our Web site today.

http://www.usastaffingservices.com/

Staffing buyers/providers ... going steady?

Once again, Jon Osborne at SAI gives his entertaining, but quite relevant, perspective on the relationship between staffing firms and staffing buyers:

"I happened to be going through some of our survey data from 2009, and noticed an interesting coincidence.

When buyers were asked what advice they would give to staffing firms, their number one response was that staffing firms should be "more of a real business partner." Strangely enough, in a separate survey, when we asked staffing firms what advice they would give to buyers, their number one response was exactly the same--buyers should be "more of a real business partner."

So if everyone wants the other side to be a real business partner, why do both sides feel the other doesn't want it and isn't doing it? Reading the details of their comments reveals the answer--the two sides are worlds apart in terms of expectations and priorities.

Staffing buyers want a lot--quality, speed, cost control, shared knowledge, creativity and ever-improving performance. Staffing firms, presumably doing at least some of that, feel their profits are excessively squeezed and that buyers should be helping them stay in business instead of treating them as a commodity.

Is there a common ground between all those needs? Yes, and the reality is that staffing firms and buyers are already finding it on a regular basis to the tune of nearly $100 billion in U.S. sales annually.

But that common ground doesn't lend itself to terribly serious partnership; it's less like marriage and more like high school, because ultimately everyone is still open to a better deal. That instability can be tough at times, but in business it makes for progress.

A more marriage-like partnership might seem attractive, but my recommendation for the contingent world is--be happy with just going steady."


USA Staffing Services:
Not including Osborne's sharp wit, there is an incredibly important note to consider for a moment. He asks:

"Is there a common ground between all those needs? Yes, and the reality is that staffing firms and buyers are already finding it on a regular basis to the tune of nearly $100 billion in U.S. sales annually."

Probably a good time to add a crucial, competitive advantage in such a hot market. Check out our Web site today.

http://www.usastaffingservices.com/

Saturday, August 14, 2010

21% more temporary employees than 12 months ago!

From a very interesting article by Mark Whitehouse of the WSJ that discusses the reasons why so many employers are still struggling to recruit qualified employees, despite record unemployment:

"The obstacles to moving are aggravated because many employers no longer provide the same job security they have in the past. Temporary jobs, for example, have increased 21% since September 2009 as more employers ... hire through staffing agencies to help control health-care costs and maintain flexibility."

USA Staffing Services:
This is a continuing trend that we have been noting for several months now. Check out our Web site to gain a competitive advantage during this period of growth for the temporary staffing industry.

www.usastaffingservices.com