Robert Half International News Release (04/23/15)

Robert Half International reported revenues of $1.21 billion in the first quarter of 2015, up 12% from $1.08 billion in the first quarter of 2014. Net income totaled $77.9 million, up 26% from $61.6 million in the year-ago quarter.

“We saw broad-based revenue gains and higher service demand in every line of business,” said Harold M. Messmer Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of Robert Half. “First-quarter revenues from our staffing operations were up 10% from the year-ago first quarter.”

TrueBlue News Release (04/23/15)

TrueBlue Inc. reported revenues of $573 million for the first quarter of 2015, up 45% from $396 million in the first quarter of 2014. Net income totaled $5.7 million, up 235% from $1.7 million in the year-ago quarter. The increases were mostly due to the company’s acquisition of Seaton last summer. Legacy TrueBlue revenues grew 0.3% from the same quarter of 2014.

Wall Street Journal (04/23/15) Josh Mitchell

Orders for durable goods rose a seasonally adjusted 4.0% from February to March, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, but durable-goods estimates are often revised, and broader trends show weak demand. The decline in February of 1.4% was unrevised. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast overall orders would increase 0.6% in March.

The March increase reflected a surge in demand for automobiles and both defense and civilian aircraft, which are volatile categories. Excluding the transportation category, orders fell 0.2%, the sixth consecutive monthly decline. So far in 2015, orders have risen 0.1% year-to-year.

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (04/23/15)

Manufacturing activity in the Plains states declined in April, although producers’ expectations improved slightly from last month, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. The month-to-month composite index was -7 in April, down from -4 in March. The shipments index fell from 0 to -7, and the order backlog and employment indexes dropped to their lowest levels since 2009. In contrast, the production index remained unchanged at -2, and the new orders index rose slightly but still remained negative.

“Regional factories had their worst month in quite some time, as exports continued to drop and conditions worsened among producers of oil and gas-related goods,” said Chad Wilkerson, vice president and economist at the regional Fed bank. “However, a positive development was a decline in supplier delivery times, which had been rising due to West Coast port disruptions.”