U.S. News & World Report (08/24/12) Danielle Kurtzleben

After reaching a high of almost 2.7 million employees in 2006, the temporary staffing industry lost more than one-third of its participants during the recession. Since then, it has recovered 87% of the employees it lost and continues to add them. This compares favorably to all private employers, which have only recovered a little more than half of their jobs. “It’s very significantly punching over its weight,” says Patrick O’Keefe, director of economic research at accounting firm J.H. Cohn, of the staffing industry’s significant recent growth. The industry may see further growth as companies delay hiring permanent employees.

Even once the economy picks up steam, the temporary staffing industry could easily remain robust, because temporary employees have become a critical component of the work force. Temporary employees comprise 2.3% of the work force, up from just over half a percent in 1983. “It’s a structural transformation,” notes Arne Kalleberg, a sociology professor at the University of North Carolina. “Just like subcontracting and outsourcing—doing these things to keep costs down—I can’t see the end of it.”

Philadelphia Inquirer (08/27/12) Marilyn Kennedy Melia

Fewer companies are performing credit checks on job applicants than were two years ago, according to a Society for Human Resource Management survey. Two years ago, 40% of companies said they did not use credit reports in their hiring process; that number has since climbed to 53%. Eight states have enacted laws governing how companies may use credit reports in the hiring process, and the federal government also restricts using someone’s credit history as a factor in hiring.

Press of Atlantic City (New Jersey) (08/27/12) Michael Miller

As part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor, Frank Donio Inc., a wholesale fruit broker based in Hammonton, NJ, will pay $657,069 in back wages to 519 workers placed at the packing warehouse by the staffing firm Heng Heng Agency Inc. from 2010 to 2012. DOL investigators determined that both Donio and the staffing firm violated the Fair Labor Standards Act, as the workers were paid less than the federal minimum wage and did not receive overtime for working more than 40 hours. Donio also agreed to comply with the FLSA in the future in regards to both its paid staff and its temporary employees.