UK - GDP up +0.5%, employment down -0.2% in Q1 2011

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by +0.5% in quarter one 2011, according to the latest figures, published today, by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The economy remains below the level of output recorded before the start of the recession. GDP has recovered about a third of the output lost...

Heidrick Net Revenue Up 2%

Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. (NASD: HSII) first-quarter net revenue rose 1.7 percent to $115.6 million in the first quarter ended March 31 from $113.7 million in the same period in the previous year.

“March confirmations were not as strong as we had projected, especially in the financial...

CTG Revenue Rises 22%

Computer Task Group Inc. (NASD: CTGX) revenue rose 22.2 percent year over year to $95.9 million in the company’s fiscal first quarter ended April 1. The company had revenue of $78.5 million in the first quarter of the previous year.

Staffing revenue rose 16.5 percent to $62.2 million from the year-ago...

Index: Consumer Confidence Rises

The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index rose in April to a reading of 65.4 following a fall in March to 63.8 (1985=100).

“Consumer confidence, which had declined sharply in March, posted a modest gain in April,” said Lynn Franco, director of consumer research at The Conference Board. “Consumers’...

DOL Proposes New Rule to Protect Veterans

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs is proposing a new rule to strengthen affirmative action requirements of federal contractors and subcontractors for veterans protected under the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974.

Veterans protected...

Austria – Trenkwalder sells majority to German investors

Trenkwalder International AG, the largest Austrian-owned staffing agency, has sold its majority shareholding to Germany-based investment house Droege Capital GmbH.

Trenkwalder Chairman, Richard Trenkwalder, commented "the Droege group is a successful family business and has a lot of experience within...

Sweden - Unemployment falls to 8.1%

In March 2011 the number of employed persons aged 15 to 74 amounted to 4.56 million, an increase of +115,000 compared with March 2010. The employment rate rose by +1.2 percentage points to 64.7%. Seasonally adjusted data shows a continued positive trend in employment for both sexes, according to the...

Netherlands - Industry positive about investments

Industrial companies expect to invest +25% more in 2011 than they did in 2010, according to new research carried out by Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

The figures largely confirm CBS' findings of six months ago when industrialists forecasted that they would invest +24% more in 2011 than they did in 2010....

Spain - 62% of unemployed would work abroad

62% of the unemployed would leave Spain to find employment in another country, according to new research by staffing agency Randstad Spain.

38% of the employed would equally leave the country if they could find a better job abroad.

Overall, 42% of Spaniards would work abroad and 65% would work in a different...

UK - Recession pushes finance people to the top

Finance skills are increasingly key to the position of a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), findings from the annual FTSE 100 CEO Tracker report published by staffing agency Robert Half reveal. 49% of serving CEOs in the current FTSE 100 Index have financial backgrounds, compared to only 31% in 2008.

Of the...