Category Archives: Staffing

The global staffing industry generated an estimated $466 billion of revenue worldwide in 2017, according to the latest update to Staffing Industry Analysts’ global staffing market forecast. Three countries — the US, Japan and the UK — comprised a majority of the revenue, and the top 17 countries combined accounted for 90% of total global staffing revenue.

Ninety percent of staffing revenue was made up by temporary staffing.

SIA predicts global staffing revenue will continue to grow by 6% for both this year and in 2019, on a constant currency basis; strong growth in Japan, China, India and several markets in continental Europe is expected to offset slower growth in the US, the UK and Australia.

“It’s important to take into account that this $466 billion of revenue does not include the entire ‘gig’ economy; it is our estimate of the size of the global staffing market, composed of temporary staffing, which is only part of the gig workforce, and of the place & search market, which we do not associate with gig work,” said Tony Gregoire, SIA’s director of research for the Americas. 

Growth in the US temporary staffing market, the world’s largest staffing market, is expected to accelerate to 4% this year from 3% in 2017. Though the more favorable economic conditions are expected to continue into 2019, SIA projects growth will decelerate back to 3% as the expansion matures and increases on top of record levels become more challenging. One headwind has been a scarcity of labor supply, noted in a variety of occupations from industrial to IT roles.

Staffing Industry Analysts expects growth in Japan, the second-largest market, to remain at 10% both this year and next.

Published twice annually, the report provides estimates and forecasts for the staffing industry by revenue and segment, with additional labor market information including regional and historical data and a ranking of the 17 largest countries in terms of staffing industry revenue.

SIA corporate members and CWS council members can download the full “Global Staffing Industry Market Estimates and Forecast: November 2018 Update” report online.

Staffing employment remained relatively unchanged, contracting 0.1%, in the week of Nov. 11 to 18 — holding at a rounded value of 103 for the fifth consecutive week, according to the American Staffing Association’s staffing index. It is the first time since 2014 that the index reading has been this high for the 46th week of the year.

In addition, the index was up 2.1% compared to the same week last year.

The index’s four-week moving average also remained little changed at a rounded figure of 103; this reading has only once been higher for the same span of weeks during the past 11 years. Staffing employment for the four weeks ended Nov. 18 increased 2.8% year over year.

The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index decreased in November following an improvement in October. The index fell to a reading of 135.7 (1985=100), down from 137.9 in October. Despite the small decline, consumer confidence remains at historically strong levels.

“Consumers’ assessment of current conditions increased slightly, with job growth the main driver of improvement,” said Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. “Expectations, on the other hand, weakened somewhat in November, primarily due to a less optimistic view of future business conditions and personal income prospects.”

Overall, consumers are still quite confident that economic growth will continue at a solid pace into early 2019, according to Franco. “However, if expectations soften further in the coming months, the pace of growth is likely to begin moderating,” she said.

Consumers’ assessment of the labor market was more favorable; the number of consumers stating that jobs were “plentiful” rose to 46.6% in November from 45.4% in October, while those claiming jobs are “hard to get” fell to 12.2% from 13.4%. 

However, consumers’ outlook for the labor market was somewhat mixed. The proportion expecting more jobs in the months ahead edged up to 22.8% in November from 22.3% in October, while those anticipating fewer jobs also increased slightly to 11.1% from 10.6%.

Creating a positive corporate culture is top of mind for employers looking to recruit and retain talent, according to a study released today by Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE: RHI). The research found both job seekers and employers place importance on corporate cultural fit.

The study found 35% of workers in the US and 40% in Canada wouldn’t accept a job that was a perfect match if the corporate culture clashed. Additionally, 91% of US managers and 90% of Canadian managers said a candidate’s fit with the organizational culture is equal to or more important than their skills and experience.

While a majority of workers across North America said their ideal corporate culture is “supportive” or “team-oriented,” most described their company as “traditional.”

“In today’s competitive hiring environment, employers risk missing out on strong candidates if they don’t promote what makes their organizational culture unique,” said Paul McDonald, senior executive director for Robert Half. “This research reinforces the notion that finding the right fit involves more than evaluating someone’s qualifications and experience. There has to be a focus on what motivates that individual and the type of work environment in which they will thrive.”

The online surveys were developed by Robert Half and conducted by independent research firms. They include responses from more than 1,000 US and more than 500 Canadian workers employed in office environments, and more than 5,500 US and more than 1,200 Canadian senior managers at companies with 20 more employees.

Executive search and leadership advisory services firm Egon Zehnder International appointed Edilson Camara as CEO, effective immediately.

Camara is Brazilian and began his career in Egon Zehnder’s Sao Paulo office 20 years ago working with industrial clients. In 2001, he moved to Rio de Janeiro to open Egon Zehnder’s first office there, ultimately becoming leader of the Brazilian practice while growing the business.

Camara was appointed to the firm’s executive committee in 2009, where he is a member of the finance committee. In 2013, he moved to Canada to lead the practice across three offices, doubling the firm’s size across Canada and tripling its profits. He is now based in Toronto.

He replaces Rajeev Vasudeva, who is leaving Egon Zehnder effective Dec. 31. Vasudeva has held leadership roles at the firm for the past 25 years and the CEO position for the past five years.

Egon Zehnder has offices in 40 countries. It ranks fifth on Staffing Industry Analysts’ list of largest retained search firms in the US.

“This revision to the labor condition application is nothing more than an attempt to discourage contracting out for services by US companies whose contractors employ H-1B professionals,” said Vic Goel, managing partner, Goel & Anderson, according to a column in Forbes magazine. The column discussed a labor condition application form for H-1Bs that came into use on Monday. The column argues the form is designed to inflict reputational damage on high tech employers. The form requires employers of H-1B workers to name companies where the H-1B holder will work on contract, such as a third-party worksite.

City Council members recently denied two staffing firms permission to open offices in Joliet, the third-largest city in Illinois. Craig Johnson, senior managing editor at Staffing Industry Analysts, examines the issue from both sides of the fence and taps staffing industry legal experts for their input in a new The Staffing Stream blog post.

Paychex Inc. (NASD: PAYX) agreed to acquire Oasis Outsourcing Acquisition Corp., one of the largest professional employer organizations in the US.

The total cash purchase price is $1.2 billion, subject to working capital and other adjustments.

Paychex and Oasis will continue to operate as separate entities pending completion of the transaction.

The deal follows Paychex’s acquisition last year of PEO HR Outsourcing Holdings Inc.

Rochester, NY-based Paychex will now count more than 1.4 million worksite employees through its HR outsourcing services.

Oasis is headquartered in West Palm Beach, Fla., and has approximately 1,100 employees. It counts more than 8,400 clients nationwide using its HR solutions, employee benefits, payroll administration, and risk management services.

“This acquisition will strengthen our PEO growth strategy, gain scale for new products with our insurance carrier partners, provide a new client base to offer Paychex retirement and time and attendance products, and augment our experienced management team,” Paychex President and CEO Martin Mucci said. “This is a great time for our two companies to come together.”

Oasis in July acquired Aureon HR, a Midwest-based PEO service provider and a subsidiary of Aureon, its sixth acquisition since Stone Point Capital acquired the PEO in 2014. Private equity firm Kelso & Co. purchased a “significant” interest in the company last year, but Stone Point Capital remained the majority owner of the company, with the remainder owned by Oasis management.

The Oasis acquisition is subject to regulatory review and other customary closing conditions.

Sterling Talent Solutions, a background screening and HR solutions company, acquired National Crime Check, pre-employment background screening provider based in Adelaide, Australia.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

National Crime Check provides criminal background screening and identity verification services to healthcare, staffing, financial services; retail and other industry organizations. It was founded by Martin Lazarevic.

Sterling Talent Solutions counts 20 offices in nine countries. In January 2016, it merged with Seattle-based TalentWise, a cloud solution provider for the human capital management industry. In May 2016, it acquired RISQ Group, a background screening leader in the Asia Pacific region, and subsequently rebranded to Sterling Talent Solutions from SterlingBackcheck. In September 2016, it acquired Verified Person Inc., a pre-employment background screening firm based in Memphis, Tenn.

The Grubhub independent misclassification lawsuit, which has dominated gig economy headlines for the past year or so, has taken another interesting turn, writes Richard Meneghello of law firm Fisher Phillips LLP in a Mondaq blog post. An Uber driver from California filed an amicus brief (friend of the court) on Friday afternoon, offering his opinion about why the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals should conclude that the Grubhub driver at issue was incorrectly classified as an independent contractor.