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U.S. Consumer Spending Remains Tepid

Wall Street Journal (11/08/13) Jonathan House

U.S. consumers spent cautiously in September, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Personal spending rose 0.2% in September from August, and personal income rose 0.5%, in part due to a rise in government wages, which had been depressed in previous months due to government furloughs. Meanwhile, the Thomson-Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment fell to 72 in November from 73.2 in October, reaching a two-year low.

U.S. payrolls increased by 204,000 jobs last month, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, but earnings showed little growth and hours worked fell. Rising mortgage rates and political uncertainty have depressed consumer confidence. Consumer spending slowed to a 1.5% annual growth rate in the third quarter from a 1.8% rate in the second, according to the Commerce Department.

Bernanke Says Still Awful Lot of Slack in U.S. Labor Market

Reuters (11/08/13) Alister Bull

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday that an “awful lot of slack” still exists in the U.S. labor market, but warned that no accurate measures of the slack exist.

“I think the unemployment rate probably understates the degree of slack in the labor market. I think the employment-population ratio overstates it somewhat, because there are important downward trends in participation,” he said during a panel discussion at the International Monetary Fund. “But that being said, I think we would agree that there is an awful lot of slack in the labor market—a lot of young people living with their parents and the like—and that is a very important imperative, and why the Federal Reserve in particular is taking strong actions to support job creation.”

ManpowerGroup Chairman Emeritus Mitchell Fromstein Passes Away at Age 85

ManpowerGroup News Release (11/08/13)

ManpowerGroup Chairman Emeritus Mitchell Fromstein passed away on Nov. 7 at the age of 85. After a successful career as an advertising agency executive, Fromstein was appointed president and chief executive officer of ManpowerGroup in 1976 following co-founder Elmer Winter’s retirement. He served in that capacity for 23 years until his retirement in 1999. Under Fromstein’s leadership, ManpowerGroup grew from a U.S.-based $300 million business to a more than $10 billion global business. Fromstein was inducted into the ASA Leadership Hall of Fame in 1999.

ASA Closed in Observance of Veterans Day

In observance of Veterans Day, the American Staffing Association will be closed today. Offices will reopen tomorrow, Nov. 12.

Free ASAPro Webinar This Week—Manage Your Time Wisely

Do you feel like you have too much to do, too few resources, and not enough time? Find out how to better organize your work and manage your tasks during the ASAPro webinar “Control the Chaos—Effective Time Management for Staffing Professionals and Search Consultants.” It takes place Thursday, Nov. 14, 3–4 p.m. Eastern time.

ASAPro webinars are free for ASA members and qualify for continuing education hours toward ASA certification renewal. To learn more and to register, visit americanstaffing.net.

Free ASAPro Webinar Next Week—The Best States for Your Business

Have you ever looked at how a state’s legislature can affect your business’s operations? Learn about state-level legislative trends that relate to staffing firms during the ASAPro webinar “The Best and Worst States for Staffing.” It takes place Monday, Nov. 18, 3–4 p.m. Eastern time.

ASAPro webinars are free for ASA members and qualify for continuing education hours toward ASA certification renewal. To learn more and to register, visit americanstaffing.net.