Kelly Services News Release (11/04/15)

Kelly Services reported revenue of $1.35 billion in the third quarter of 2015, down 3.2% (up 3.0% in constant currency) from $1.4 billion in the third quarter of 2014. Net earnings totaled $9.1 million, compared with $1.4 million in the year-ago quarter.

U.S. revenues totaled $899.8 million, up 3.0% from $873.7 million in last year’s third quarter. Revenue totaled $93.1 million for the Asia-Pacific region, down 8.3% (up 9.5% in constant currency) from $101.6 million. By segment, revenues were $171.8 million for outsourcing and consulting services, up 14.7% (up 16.8% in constant currency) from $149.8 million.

President and chief executive officer Carl T. Camden said, “Our third quarter results confirm that Kelly is operating as a more efficient organization, delivering both topline growth and operating leverage. We’re expanding Kelly’s role as a trusted talent adviser to many of the world’s top companies.”

TeamHealth Holdings News Release (11/03/15)

Team Health Holdings Inc. reported net revenue of $899.2 million in the third quarter of 2015, up 26.2% from $712.2 million in the third quarter of 2014. Net earnings totaled $35.4 million, up 28.3% from $27.6 million in the year-ago quarter.

Kforce Inc. News Release (11/03/15)

Kforce Inc. reported revenues of $341.6 million in the third quarter of 2015, up 8.8% from $313.8 million in the third quarter of 2014. Net income totaled $13.5 million, up 16.4% from $11.6 million in the year-ago quarter.

“Secular drivers continue to be a key factor in flexible staffing growth, driven both by the project nature of work as well as our clients’ desire to minimize employment risk,” said David Dunkel, chairman and chief executive officer.

Health Carousel News Release (11/03/15)

Cincinnati, OH-based health care workforce solutions provider Health Carousel, the parent company of Tailored Healthcare Staffing and PassportUSA, has acquired Dayton, OH-based Next Medical Staffing.

Conference Board News Release (11/04/15)

Online advertised vacancies increased 172,300 to 5.5 million in October, according to the Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine Data Series. The September supply and demand rate stands at 1.5 unemployed for each advertised vacancy, with a total of 2.6 million more unemployed workers than the number of advertised vacancies. The number of unemployed was around 8.0 million in September.

“Labor demand for 2015 continues to follow the 2014 pattern of high monthly demand levels with modest net growth,” says Gad Levanon, managing director of macroeconomic and labor market research at the Conference Board. “The strong monthly demand level continues to help reduce the number of unemployed and maintain a positive outlook for the U.S. labor market.”

Market Wired (11/04/15)

Private sector employment increased by 182,000 jobs from September to October, according to Automatic Data Processing. Goods-producing employment rose by 24,000 jobs in October, representing the best month in this sector since January of this year. The construction industry added 35,000 jobs in October, roughly matching September’s gain. Meanwhile, manufacturing remained in negative territory, losing 2,000 jobs in October after shrinking by 17,000 in September. Service-providing employment rose by 158,000 jobs in October, down from a downwardly revised 182,000 in September.

“Job growth as measured by the ADP Research Institute is not slowing meaningfully in contrast with the recent slowdown in the government’s data,” says Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. “The economy is creating close to 200,000 jobs per month. Job gains are broad based with energy and manufacturing alone subtracting from the top line. Small businesses, in particular, are contributing to the labor market’s solid performance.”

Reuters (11/03/15) Lucia Mutikani

New orders for U.S. factory goods fell 1.0% in September, after a downwardly revised 2.1% drop in August, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Orders for automobiles and parts rose 1.5% in September, after falling 2.0% in August. Orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft decreased 0.1% in September, instead of the 0.3% drop initially reported.

The factory orders report also showed a 0.4% decline in manufacturing inventories, which was bigger than the government had assumed for its third-quarter gross domestic product estimate published last week. The decline suggests the third-quarter GDP estimate could be lowered by at least one-tenth of a percentage point to a 1.4% annual pace, economists say.

MarketWatch (11/03/15) Jeffry Bartash

The labor market is tighter than it has been in the last 15 years, according to Stephen Williamson, vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Moreover, there is an unusually high number of people who are among the ranks of the long-term unemployed who “may be masking how tight the labor market is,” says Williamson. Approximately 2.1 Americans were classified as long-term unemployed in September, a sharp decrease from the 6.8 million recorded in early 2010.

This position underscores a prominent debate inside the central bank about the true health of the nation’s labor market. The Fed is more likely to increase interest rates soon if a majority of its leaders believe jobs are abundant and that most people who want a full-time job could find one. Numbers suggest, however, that many in the long-term unemployed demographic lack the necessary skills to get hired for the jobs available now, according to Williamson, who notes that some of these individuals “are unlikely to be hired under any condition,” and may soon drop out of the labor force completely. If half of the 2.1 million long-term unemployed were not counted as part of the labor force, U.S. unemployment would be 4.6%, instead of the official 5.1% rate, Williamson says.