Marketwired (02/04/2014)

Barrett Business Services Inc. reported gross revenues of $779.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2013, up 31.0% from the fourth quarter of 2012. Net income totaled $5.6 million, down 3.5% from $5.8 million. Net revenues from staffing services totaled $37.1 million in the fourth quarter, up 9.5% from $33.9 million. Net revenues from staffing services totaled $143.9 million for the full year, up 13.7% from $126.6 million in 2012.

Jordan Search Consultants News Release (02/04/14)

Jordan Search Consultants, an executive, health care, higher education, and corporate recruitment firm, has announced the acquisition of Levison Search Associates, a Sacramento, CA-based physician and health care executive search firm. The acquisition will expand Jordan Search Consultants’ offerings to include managed care and health plan physician and nurse leadership, hospice, nonprofit community health center, and expert witness services. The new organization will operate under the Jordan Search Consultants name.

ADP National Employment Report (02/05/14)

Employment increased by 175,000 jobs from December to January, according to the ADP National Employment Report. This is “in line with the average monthly growth throughout 2013,” says Carlos Rodriguez, president and chief executive officer of ADP.

Payroll growth for businesses with 49 or fewer employees decelerated in January, adding 75,000 jobs. This is the slowest pace of small-business job growth since August. Employment levels among medium-sized companies with 50-499 employees rose by 66,000, and employment at large companies with 500 or more employees increased by 34,000. While this represented an acceleration in job growth for mid-size firms, growth at large firms was nearly half of what it was in December.

Construction added 25,000 jobs in January, following gains of 30,000 and 32,000 in the prior two months, while manufacturing lost 12,000 jobs over the month following a revised gain of 16,000 jobs in December. Professional and business services added 49,000 jobs, down from an average of 65,000 the prior two months.

Reuters (02/04/14) Lucia Mutikani

Nontransportation factory orders gained 0.2% in December after rising 0.3% in November and 0.1% in October, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. However, overall factory orders fell 1.5%, the largest decline since July, largely due to a major drop in transportation orders, which are typically volatile. New orders for transportation equipment dropped 9.7% in December. On a more upbeat note, orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft declined only 0.6%.

Wall Street Journal (02/04/14) Ben Leubsdorf

The U.S. Federal Reserve likely will continue slowing its bond-buying program in the coming months, according to Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee agreed in January to cut back bond-buying by $10 billion, after a cut of $10 billion in December. Lacker expects economic growth this year of approximately 2%.

Wall Street Journal (02/04/14) Louise Radnofsky; Damian Paletta

The U.S. Congressional Budget Office expects the Affordable Care Act to reduce the number of hours worked by Americans in 2021 by the equivalent of 2.3 million permanent jobs, which surpasses an earlier forecast of a loss equivalent to 800,000 workers. CBO does not expect an increase in the unemployment rate tied to the law because the changes would be the result of workers’ choices, though growth could slow due to the impact on the labor force.

Additionally, the troubled launch of the health insurance exchange will reduce the number of people obtaining coverage in 2014. CBO estimates that six million people will secure private coverage through the exchanges, down from a previous estimate of seven million, and eight million will obtain coverage through Medicaid, down from nine million.