Minneapolis posts lowest unemployment rate in August among large US metros

The Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington area in Minnesota and Wisconsin posted the lowest unemployment rate among all large, US metropolitan areas in August at 2.5%, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics announced today.

The New Orleans-Metairie area in Louisiana posted highest jobless rate among large metropolitan...

US nonmanufacturing activity accelerates in September, employment metric hits record high

Economic activity in the US nonmanufacturing sector accelerated in September, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s nonmanufacturing index released today.

ISM’s nonmanufacturing index rose to a reading of 61.6 in September from a reading of 58.5 in August.

Readings above 50 generally indicate...

Artech acquires CDI’s Talent and Technology Solutions business

Artech Information Systems LLC, a multinational staffing and professional services firm, acquired the Talent and Technology Solutions business unit of CDI Corp., a Philadelphia-based provider of IT and engineering staffing.

The transaction closed Oct. 1; terms were not disclosed. The business line will...

Retailers focus on seasonal employees who can bolster ‘in-store experiences’

Retailers are emphasizing customers’ in-store experiences this holiday season and their holiday hiring decisions reflect that trend, according to a new Korn Ferry (NYSE: KFY) retailer survey.

Korn Ferry surveyed 20 major US retailers last month and found nearly 15% are looking for employees...

CWS Summit engages with TED-style talks

Contingent workforce managers are weighing in on topics from program design to artificial intelligence today at Staffing Industry Analysts’ CWS Summit in Dallas.

The conference kicked off today with a series of TED-style talks covering diversity, where contingent workforce programs can go wrong, technology...

Paychex revenue up 9%, cites increases in PEO clients and worksite employees

Revenue rose 9% at Paychex Inc. (NASD: PAYX) in its fiscal first quarter ended Aug. 31. However, revenue jumped 39% in the Rochester, NY-based firm’s professional employer organization and insurance services segment.

PEO and insurance services revenue growth was primarily driven by increases in...

Amazon raises minimum wage in US to $15

Online retail giant Amazon today announced it will increase its minimum wage to $15 for all employees across the US, effective Nov. 1. This includes full-time, part-time, temporary and seasonal employees, as well as temporary employees hired by agencies.

The new minimum wage will...

Word of the month: Recruitment chatbot

“Recruitment chatbot” is defined by Staffing Industry Analysts’ online Lexicon of workforce solutions ecosystem terms as an automated computer program that conducts an online conversation to convincingly simulate how a recruiter would behave during the initial stage of the hiring process....

Stories of fastest-growing staffing firms now online (Staffing Industry Review)

The stories of the fastest-growing staffing firms are now online, and the full list of all 94 firms is available to the public. Companies on the list had to achieve compound average growth rate in revenue of at least 15% between 2013 and 2017. However, the 10 fastest-growing firms had a median CAGR of...

Temp revenue speeds up to median 9% in August, recruiting difficulty at high for industrial segment: Pulse

US temporary staffing revenue growth accelerated to a median 9% year over year in August from 7% in July, according to Staffing Industry Analysts’ Pulse report survey of staffing firms, released Friday.

“August’s acceleration in median year-over-year growth for temporary staffing revenue is mostly...