Canada’s Index of Business Confidence hits lowest level in six quarters

Canada’s business leaders are becoming more pessimistic about the state of the Canadian economy, according to The Conference Board of Canada’s Index of Business Confidence. The index fell 6.9 points to 93.1 in the first quarter, the lowest level in the last six quarters.

The research found businesses...

Tesla gets tough on contractors (Digital Trends)

Tesla’s Elon Musk Tesla raised concerns that contractors were causing quality problems at the electric carmaker, Digital Trends reported. Musk seeks to require contract workers to be vouched for by an internal worker, or they won’t be allowed to continue to work. The internal worker must put his...

OSHA vacates safety citation in staffing firm case (Business Insurance)

An administrative law judge of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission vacated a workplace safety citation issued against Aerotek after finding that regulators failed to prove existing abatement measures were insufficient to mitigate the hazard, Business Insurance reported. An Aerotek employee...

Temporary help jobs rise 4% year over year in April; penetration rate ticks up

US temporary jobs were up 3.9% in April compared to the same month last year, according to seasonally adjusted numbers released today by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Temporary help services jobs rose by 10,300 in April from March.

The temp penetration rate — temporary jobs as a percent of total...

AMN revenue up 6% in first quarter, firm’s nurse staffing rises 8%

First-quarter revenue rose 5.5% at AMN Healthcare Services Inc. (NYSE: AMN), the largest healthcare staffing firm in the US. Growth was led by the San Diego, Calif.-based firm’s nurse and allied staffing business, where revenue rose 7.9%.

Peoplelink names new CFO

Industrial staffing provider The Peoplelink Group appointed Heather Wilson as its new CFO.

Wilson joined Peoplelink in 2014 as assistant controller and most recently was director of finance. Prior to Peoplelink, she was a controller with Solutions Healthcare Management LLC for Nephrol­ogy...

People: Phaidon, WinterWyman, Brightfield, Riviera, Caldwell, Heidrick

International specialist recruitment firm Phaidon International announced Managing Principal Consultant Taylor Hardy will lead a new EPM Scientific team in Boston to provide a physical presence to support the company’s client base in the region. It will initially provide talent to clients...

Outsourcing firms file lawsuit challenging H-1B visa’s tighter rules (The Mercury News)

A group of outsourcing companies that use H-1B visas filed a lawsuit claiming recent US government restrictions on the visa program are illegal, according to The (San Jose, Calif.) Mercury News. The legal action targets a February policy change by US Citizenship and Immigration Services that single out...

Gig economy hits retail (The Washington Post)

The Washington Post reported the gig economy is “clocking in” to retailers and restaurants. And by moving into shops and cafes, on-demand work stands to reshape a broader slice of the US economy.

Cross Country revenue edges up 1% in first quarter

First-quarter revenue at Cross Country Healthcare Inc. (NASD: CCRN) edged up 1.3%, but gross margin narrowed. The Boca Raton, Fla.-based healthcare staffing provider reported net income attributable to common shareholders rose to $1.6 million; net income attributable to common shareholders included a...