Wall Street Journal (03/09/13) Brenda Cronin

Employers in February hired briskly enough to bolster the recovery but likely not enough to prompt the U.S. Federal Reserve to put the brakes on its easy-money programs until it sees further, sustained gains. The U.S. added 236,000 jobs in February, notching gains in almost every corner of the private sector. “The overall 236,000 number is nice, but the breadth of jobs growth across industries tells me that the recovery is broadening and likely gaining momentum,” says Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC. “The mix of jobs is also changing. We’re creating higher-paying ones.” However, the full impact of the federal budget situation could take a serious toll in the second quarter and possibly the third, says Ian Shepherdson, chief economist of Pantheon Macroeconomic Advisers.

The ranks of temporary workers, often seen as a hiring bellwether, surged by 16,000 after declining by 3,000 in January. Demand is up at ManpowerGroup, although the “conversion rate” of temporary workers to full-time ones is flat this year from last, says chief executive Jeffrey A. Joerres. That reflects companies’ increased productivity, Joerres says, with firms getting “very good at making trade-offs” and ensuring they have enough workers—but not too many—to handle the essentials. Companies hiring temporary workers are taking the economic headwinds in stride, Joerres notes. Despite a flurry of domestic and international risks, businesses “are getting a bit numb to the shocks that are happening to the system,” he says. “But they’re remaining on high alert.”

Business Wire (03/08/13)

Staffing and consulting firm Corporate Resource Services Inc. on March 8 announced it has closed on its acquisition of Temploy Inc., an employment services firm based in Tustin, CA. The transaction is effective as of March 11. “The Temploy acquisition is a welcome addition to the CRS family of companies and we are excited to integrate Temploy into our existing business in Southern California,” says Mark Levine, chief operating officer of Corporate Resource Services.

Wall Street Journal (03/09/13) Jon Hilsenrath

With the U.S. Federal Reserve most concerned about the health of the labor market, observers think several more encouraging job reports will be needed before it considers pulling back from a plan to hold short-term rates near zero and buy $85 billion of Treasury and mortgage-backed securities per month to reduce long-term rates. While some Fed officials worry the programs could boost inflation or market instability, Charles Evans, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, is among those calling for the programs to remain in place. “We need job growth of around 200,000 per month over a six-month period,” he says. “We also need to see output growth above trend, reinforcing that job growth. Together, these ought to lead to a steady decline in the unemployment rate.”

Los Angeles Times (03/10/13) Andy Stern; Carl Camden

In this op-ed by Andy Stern, a senior fellow at Columbia University’s Richman Center, and Carl Camden, president and chief executive officer of Kelly Services, the two argue that we need to raise the minimum wage in order to help lift Americans out of poverty. They point out that currently someone who works full-time making minimum wage and supporting a family of three falls below the federal poverty line. Stern and Camden say that government supports such as the earned income tax credit, food stamps, and Medicaid “mask a job’s true value and set an artificially low wage.” This set-up also teaches low-income workers that their jobs are not valuable. Stern and Camden propose raising the minimum wage, in stages, to $12.50 an hour, which would allow someone working full-time to support a family of three at about 138% of the federal poverty line.

Some critics argue that raising the minimum wage destroys jobs, but numerous recent studies show that raising the minimum wage would have almost no effect on employment. And, in fact, paying workers higher wages actually reduces turnover and boosts productivity.