CDI Corp. News Release (02/26/13)

CDI Corp. today reported net income of $5.042 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2012, compared with a net loss of $618,000 reported for the same period in 2011. The company also reported net income of $19.1 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2012, a 23.7% increase over the net income of $14.8 million reported for 2011. CDI also reported revenue of $271 million for the quarter, up 1% from the year ago quarter, and $1.105 billion for the year, up 4.3% from 2011. The 2011 fourth quarter results included a restructuring charge of $8.1 million related to the company’s strategic plan announced in December 2011.

The company’s professional services staffing segment reported a 3.5% revenue increase in the fourth quarter to $174.9 million when compared with the prior-year quarter. For the full year 2012, PSS revenue rose 6.4% to $710.3 million.

Reuters (02/25/13) Jason Lange

After years of paltry growth and despite a government austerity drive that could batter the economy for months, signs are emerging that a more robust U.S. economic recovery is around the bend. The main reason is an improvement in household finances, which by some measures are looking more solid than they have in decades. “We finally are getting something that looks more like a normal recovery,” says Nigel Gault, an economist at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts.

This hint of normalcy suggests the slow improvements in the labor market over the past few years can now provide a bigger boost to consumer spending, which will in turn create more jobs. Gault and others expect this increasingly self-reinforcing cycle will lead growth to pick up substantially by the end of the year, even if Washington goes forward with $85 billion in budget cuts scheduled to begin on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters this month predicted the economy will expand at a 2.8% annual rate in the fourth quarter, up from the 1.8% rate expected in the first quarter.

USA Today (02/26/13) Elizabeth Weise; Jon Swartz

Yahoo has decided that employees will no longer be able to telecommute beginning in June in an effort to foster collaboration and boost productivity. Jackie Reses, head of human resources at Yahoo, wrote in a memo to employees, “Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people and impromptu team meetings.” However, some experts criticize Yahoo’s decision, indicating that eliminating such flexibility will prevent the company from retaining top talent. While telecommuting may not work as well in jobs that depend on brainstorming, surveys show that workers find it enhances job engagement, motivation, and satisfaction. The Society for Human Resource Management reports that employers offering telecommuting jumped to 63% in 2012 from 34% in 2005.