American Staffing Association (09/26/12)

U.S. staffing companies employed an average of 2.91 million temporary and contract workers per business day during the second quarter of 2012, according to recent data released by the American Staffing Association.

“Even in the face of a very stubborn jobs recession, staffing and recruiting firms continue to provide the way to work for millions of people each day,” says Richard Wahlquist, ASA president and chief executive officer.

From April through June of this year, the number of temporary and contract workers employed by U.S. staffing firms on an average business day was 5.4% higher compared with the second quarter of 2011. This is the 10th consecutive quarter of year-to-year staffing industry job growth since the recession ended mid-2009.

“As the economy continues to slowly improve, businesses are turning to staffing firms for flexible work force solutions and access to qualified talent,” Wahlquist says.

Temporary and contract staffing sales in the second quarter were 8.9% higher year-to-year compared with the second quarter of last year.

MarketWatch (09/25/12) Steve Goldstein

Consumer-confidence surveys by the University of Michigan and the Conference Board showed big increases in September. The combined one-month gain on those indexes, of 13.9 points, was the strongest since December. Potential reasons for the increases include gains in house and stock prices. Home prices may have gained 4.6% year-on-year in August, according to a forecast from CoreLogic. Meanwhile, in August, the dividend-reinvested S&P 500 was up some 18% year-on-year, according to Haver Analytics data, marking the strongest gain since July 2011. Returns have not been simultaneously this good for homes and stocks since 2006.

ManpowerGroup News Release (09/25/12)

ManpowerGroup formally announced at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City Tuesday that it has partnered with eight other global companies to form the Global Business Coalition Against Trafficking, which provides businesses with tools designed to end all forms of human trafficking. “Fully engaging the corporate community is a critical step in the war to end modern-day slavery,” said David Arkless, ManpowerGroup’s president of global corporate and government affairs and gBCAT co-chair. “Human trafficking is a global problem which can only be eradicated by mobilizing global solutions. Corporations need to take action, get involved, and become part of the solution.”

gBCAT will work to mobilize the expertise, resources and voices of coalition members to abolish human trafficking across industries. Members are committed to assisting to eradicate trafficking in supply chains where incidences of forced labor may be currently undetectable. As a thought leaders’ forum, gBCAT will develop and share best practices for preventing traffickers from entering a company’s operations. gBCAT will pursue training modules for employees and general awareness-raising among consumers, suppliers, and partners.