Temporary and contract staffing employment has been inching up but is below where it was last year, according to the ASA Staffing Index.

Want to know more? Complete the ASA Staffing Index survey to get updated information on industry trends, including new staffing starts data. Staffing firms with U.S. operations can participate in the weekly survey, and there are no fees to participate.

Participants receive a weekly email summary report—in addition to statistics by company size and access to historical data and dynamic charts.

Register today at americanstaffing.net/staffing-index.

Staffing companies—particularly small businesses and minority-, veteran-, LGBT-, and woman-owned businesses—find they may be able to partner with larger companies that have supplier diversity initiatives in place.

The ASA inclusion, diversity, and equity advocacy (IDEA) group has developed guidance for ASA members interested in partnering with those companies or in becoming a diverse-owned certified business. The ASA IDEA group is sponsored by ASA corporate partners ClearlyRated and Monster along with supporting sponsor WorkN.

Visit americanstaffing.net/diversity for a directory of diversity certification organizations, a glossary of common terms, and more.

The ASA board of directors and staff welcome the following new members, which joined during the week ending Dec. 3.

ATL GA Staffing LLC
Marietta, GA
Workforce Capital
Grimsby, Ontario, Canada

ASA Central—the dynamic online community just for staffing professionals—is home to more than 27,000 staffing professional profiles and countless ongoing industry conversations.

This week, take a look at your colleagues’ discussions and some of the blogs they’ve posted on ASA Central:

• Background screening for direct hire candidates
• Communicating a rate increase to clients
• Standard operating procedure for effective lead generation

Get involved with the community—update your profile today so you can network with colleagues, join a section community, recommend and comment on your colleagues’ posts, and share your own blog or discussion post. Log in to ASA Central now.

The final weeks of 2023 will offer more opportunities for free education from ASA. These upcoming ASA webinars can help you support your employees, improve gender diversity in the staffing industry, and more.

Dec. 12—”Integrating Trauma-Informed Care Into Recruiting and Retaining Industrial Talent“
Learn to train recruiters on improving the employee experience by understanding candidates’ diverse backgrounds and integrating candidate care into company culture

Dec. 14—”A Panel Discussion on Gender Equity in the Staffing Industry—A Review of the 2023 Women Business Collaborative’s Staffing Industry Benchmark Survey“
A panel of industry thought leaders will discuss key findings from the WBC benchmark survey Gender Equity Progress in the Staffing Industry and share their own insights from years of experience in leadership roles in the staffing industry.

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

Don’t miss the fourth and final ASA State of the Industry webinar of 2023, presented by ASA and ClearlyRated, the association’s satisfaction survey partner. It takes place today from 2 to 3 p.m. Eastern time. During the fourth quarter update, Eric Gregg of ClearlyRated will offer insights into the trends affecting the industry right now—plus you’ll hear from ASA chair Joanie Bily of Employbridge, get updates on legislative news and research findings, and more.

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

As your staffing firm faces evolving challenges and tries to answer unexpected questions, are you dealing with questions that are specific to your sector of the staffing industry? Get insight from industry peers during a peer networking call where you can discuss top-of-mind challenges and devise solutions. Calls are facilitated by volunteers from ASA (participants will not receive official legal updates or guidance regarding Covid-19).

Get the full schedule and register at americanstaffing.net:

• Hospitality staffing: Tuesday, Dec 5, 1–2 p.m. Eastern time
• Office–administrative section: Tuesday, Dec. 12, 1–2 p.m. Eastern time
• Direct hire staffing: Wednesday, Dec. 13, 1–2 p.m. Eastern time
• Engineering, IT, and scientific section: Thursday, Dec. 14, 1–2 p.m. Eastern time

Networking calls are open to ASA members and members of ASA sections, which are sector-specific communities that provide resources, webinars, town hall forums, and sector-specific news for member companies and their employees. To join a section, update your profile on ASA Central.

ASA and ClearlyRated, the association’s satisfaction survey partner, will present the fourth and final ASA State of the Industry webinar of 2023 tomorrow 2–3 p.m. Eastern time. During the fourth quarter update, Eric Gregg of ClearlyRated will offer insights into the trends affecting the industry right now—plus you’ll hear from ASA chair Joanie Bily of Employbridge, get updates on legislative news and research findings, and more.

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

In 2013, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration launched a Temporary Worker Initiative, an enforcement and education effort designed to improve temporary worker safety and well-being. Since that time, OSHA, in coordination with ASA, has developed guidance documents and issued bulletins on a range of topics.

The ASA Legal Line monthly video series features a member of the association’s legal team and addresses critical legal, regulatory, and legislative topics that have direct implications for your business. In the latest installment, ASA general counsel Brittany Sakata provides details on two new bulletins: one that covers staffing firm and host employer responsibilities around ensuring temporary worker safety in warehousing industry employment, and another that addresses what both employers should do to prevent temporary worker exposure to ergonomic risk factors.

Watch the latest ASA Legal Line video, then join the conversation on ASA Central. The ASA Legal Line monthly video series is sponsored by Essential StaffCARE, an ASA corporate partner.

The ASA board of directors and staff welcome the following new members, which joined during the week ending Nov. 26.

DreamJob Staffing LLC
Dallas, TX
Intellect Resources Inc.
Greensboro, NC
R&T Staffing
Columbus, OH
Southeast Contracting Services
Brownsville, TX
Trotter Workforce
Schwenksville, PA
Up Sourced LLC
Sunnyvale, CA