US nonmanufacturing index decelerates in March; employment portion falls three percentage points

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

ISM’s nonmanufacturing index fell in April to a reading of 56.8 from March’s reading of 58.8. The slowing in the rate of growth was...

Jobless claims average falls to lowest level since 1973

The US four-week moving average of initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to 221,500 last week, down 7,750 from the previous week’s unrevised average, the US Department of Labor reported. This is the lowest level for this average since March 3, 1973, when it was 221,250.

The four-week moving...

Job board Snag closes California office, lays off staff in Richmond, Va. (Richmond BizSense)

Snag, a job board for hourly work, reduced the size of its workforce in its Richmond, Va., office and on the West Coast, as it shuttered its office in Oakland, Calif., Richmond BizSense reported. Spokesman Jason Conrad said Snag’s decision to invest further into Snag Work, a shift-work offshoot formerly...

Kforce Q1 revenue rises 4% from tech and government services

Kforce Inc. (NASD: KFRC) reported first-quarter revenue rose 3.7%. Revenue growth came from technology, the firm’s largest single segment, and in government solutions; finance and accounting revenue fell 7.9%.

Overall, first-quarter flex revenue rose 4.2% at the Tampa, Fla.-based professional staffing...

Barrett Q1: PEO service fees up while staffing revenue falls

First-quarter revenue rose 6.7% at Barrett Business Services Inc. (NASD: BBSI), a Vancouver, Wash.-based provider of PEO and staffing services. PEO service fees rose 9.7%; however, staffing revenue fell 7.3%.

ADP says PEO revenue increases 10%

PEO revenue rose 10% at ADP (NASD: ADP) in the company’s fiscal third quarter ended March 31, driven primarily by a 9% increase in average worksite employees for the quarter.

Roseland, NJ-based ADP provides other services, including paycheck processing. Total revenue rose 8% to $3.69 billion in the...

QPS Employment Group’s president and chief sales officer passes away

The president and chief sales officer of QPS Employment Group, Mark Immekus, passed away unexpectedly last week at the age of 52.

Immekus helped start the Brookfield, Wis.-based staffing firm in 1985 with longtime friend Scott Mayer, who is now QPS’ chairman and CEO. Immekus was promoted to president...

California’s top court adopts tougher IC misclassification test; could impact gig economy

The California Supreme Court may have made it more difficult to classify workers as independent contractors. And the impact could be felt in the gig economy, where independent contractors are used heavily by some firms.

California’s top court adopted the “ABC” test for determining whether workers...

US private sector adds 204,000 jobs in April with ‘little sign of a slowdown’

US private sector employment rose by 204,000 jobs in April from March despite a tight labor market, according to the ADP National Employment Report. March’s gain was revised downward to 228,000 from the initially reported 241,000.

“The labor market continues to maintain a steady pace of strong...

TrueBlue Q1 revenue falls 2%; sells PlaneTechs business for $11 million

TrueBlue Inc. (NYSE: TBI) revenue fell 2.4% in the first quarter with declines in its PeopleManagement and PeopleReady segments. The decline at PeopleManagement was attributed to the sale of PlaneTechs and client demand, which declined at several locations. The decline at PeopleReady was mainly attributable...