Amazon CEO challenges retail competitors to match $15 hourly minimum wage (Fortune)

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos yesterday challenged his competitors to match his company’s recent increase to a minimum wage of $15 per hour, Fortune reported. “Do it! Better yet, go to $16 and throw the gauntlet back at us,” Bezos wrote in his annual shareholder letter. “It’s a kind of competition...

Staffing firms’ internal workers provide management tips: SIA

Transparency and communication are the top recommendations suggested by internal workers to build trust with their staffing firm, according to research recently released by Staffing Industry Analysts. Internal workers also recommend better guidance and mentoring, as well as caring about employees.

“What...

PeopleShare acquires Virginia-based staffing firm

PeopleShare, a Collegeville, Pennsylvania-based company that provides temporary staffing and outsourced HR services on the East Coast, acquired Richmond, Virginia-based Reliance Staffing.

Reliance Staffing, founded in 1982, has five offices in the Richmond-Hampton Roads area of Virginia, a new state for...

Must-have soft skills for grads: NACE

Employers cited four career readiness competencies — critical thinking/problem solving, teamwork/collaboration, professionalism/work ethic and oral/written communications — as between “essential” and “absolutely essential” in the college graduates they are looking to hire, according to a...

Measures of jobless claims fall to lowest levels in 50 years

The US four-week moving average of initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to 196,000 last week, down 8,000 from the previous week, the US Department of Labor reported. This is the lowest level for initial claims since Oct. 4, 1969, when it was 193,000. The previous week’s average was revised...

Positive workforce drug tests hit highest rate since 2004

The rate of workforce drug positivity hit a 14-year high in 2018, according to analysis released today by drug-testing firm Quest Diagnostics.

Positivity rates in urine drug tests in the combined US workforce rose to 4.4% in 2018, up from 4.2% in 2017. This is the highest level since 4.5% in 2004 and...

Nominations open for 40 Under 40 list

Staffing Industry Analysts is accepting nominations for this year’s 40 Under 40 list of rising stars in the workforce solutions ecosystem.

The list, which debuted in 2017, recognizes the achievements, ambition and influence of younger leaders who are advancing the industry to the next level. This list...

Command Center Q4 revenue flat as net income improves; CCNI CEO says merger will benefit all stakeholders

Industrial staffing firm Command Center Inc. (NASD: CCNI), which yesterday announced plans to combine with Hire Quest Holdings LLC, reported fourth-quarter revenue edged down 0.3%.

Net income at the Lakewood, Colorado-headquartered industrial staffing provider increased to $1.1 million from a net loss...

71% of global execs from companies with more than $500 million in revenue to increase contingent usage

Among firms around the globe, 71% plan to expand their use of temporary and contract workers, according to the 2019 Global Business & Spending Outlook released today by American Express and institutional investor Thought Leadership Studio. The report is based on a survey of 901 senior finance...

Third of candidates have been in current job for less than three years

One-third of job seekers have been in their current jobs for less than three years, according to a research released today by Express Employment Professionals.

Express fielded two surveys. One asked business leaders about the average tenure at their companies. A second asked job seekers about their tenures...