Switzerland – Temporary workers’ hours up 15% over year in Q1

The number of hours worked by temporary workers in Switzerland was up 15.3% year over year in the first quarter, according to Swissstaffing’s Staffingindex released last week.

This is the first time there has been a double-digit increase, according to the organisation. It’s driven by increased demand...

Belgium – Growth in hours worked by temps maintained in March

Compared to March last year, the Belgian staffing sector recorded an increase of 5.81% in the number of hours worked by temporary agency workers. This compares to a 6.23% increase seen in February 2018 compared to February 2017. The seasonally and calendar-adjusted data is provided by Federgon, the organisation...

Switzerland – Randstad names Swiss International Air Lines as most attractive employer

Randstad named Swiss International Air Lines as the most attractive employer in Switzerland. It was followed by Zurich Airport in second place and Patek Philippe in third place.

“It is important to us that we establish a strong employer brand which allows us not only to retain our talented personnel...

Spain – Country should do more to give workers the right skills, report says

Spain must ramp up vocational education and training, according to a new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Skills demands in Spain are more polarized than in many OECD countries with a high share of jobs requiring either very low or very high skills.

While the government...

UK – APSCo announces new Representative Committee

The Association of Professional Staffing Companies announced its new Representative Committee, which will take responsibility for shaping the strategy and direction of the trade association until 2020.

Nominations for APSCo’s Representative Committee were open to any member director and the election...

World – Increased competition for talent, digitalisation behind talent trends

Increased competition for talent and the importance of preparing for increased digitalisation are behind five talent trends identified by human resources consulting firm Mercer in a new report titled “2018 Global Talent Trends Study – Unlocking Growth in the Human Age.”

Those five trends include:...

UK – Hiring plans remain cautious despite economic confidence, REC finds

Employers’ confidence in the economy has improved but their hiring plans remain cautious, according to the latest JobsOutlook survey from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation.

The net balance of employers who think economic conditions are getting better over worse grew seven points since March,...

UK – Freelancer confidence falls on Brexit concerns

The confidence of UK freelancers in the economy is draining away as Brexit approaches, according to IPSE’s new report, “Brexit deal for the self-employed.” This is the first time since IPSE has been tracking confidence that concerns about Brexit have overtaken other factors, such as government...

Europe – Eurostat reports Iceland, Czech Republic and Germany had lowest unemployment in 2017

The countries with the lowest unemployment rates among 34 countries tracked in 2017 were Iceland, the Czech Republic and Germany, according to a report by Eurostat, part of the European Commission. The highest unemployment rates were in Macedonia, Greece and Spain.

However, jobless rates varied widely...

France – Synergie first quarter revenue up 10.9% on a like-for-like basis, international and domestic business drives growth

French staffing firm Synergie (SDG: PAR) reported revenue for the first quarter ending 31 March 2018 of €589.6 million, an increase of 14.2% when compared to the same period in the previous year and 10.9% on a like-for-like basis.

Both international and France contributed to the group’s total revenue...