MarketWatch (07/06/12)

Volt Information Sciences Inc. has provided a business update and reported selected unaudited financial information for its fiscal second quarter and first fiscal six months of 2012 ended April 29. The staffing services segment, which accounts for a majority of the company’s total revenue, had approximately $501 million of revenue in the second quarter 2012 compared with approximately $479 million for the same period in 2011. For the first six months of 2012 the staffing services segment had approximately $963 million of revenue compared with approximately $929 million for the same period in 2011.

On average, approximately 31,000 U.S. staffing employees were on assignment in the quarter compared to approximately 30,900 in the second quarter of 2011, and 31,200 for the first six months compared to 31,600 in the prior year six-month period.

USA Today (07/07/12) Paul Davidson

The number of temporary workers rose by 25,000 in the U.S. Department of Labor’s monthly employment report issued on July 6, making up nearly a third of the total 80,000 payroll gains in June. The hiring of temporary employees traditionally augurs the addition of permanent staff, but staffing firms and company executives note temporary employees are keeping that status longer, in part due to nervousness about the unsettled economy. Also, many businesses are using contractors and other temporary workers on an ongoing basis to better meet fluctuating demand and enlist workers with specialized skills for short-term projects.

The addition of temporary and contract workers the past two years has not consistently led to stronger permanent job growth. The number of temporary workers placed by staffing firms is up 20% since June 2010, while total payrolls are up just 2.3%.

ManpowerGroup CEO Jeff Joerres reports about 30% of the temporary employees the staffing firm has placed this year have been converted to permanent status, compared with 45% last year. “They’re loath to hire because they’ve been burned too many times” in a halting recovery, he says.