George Konik Associates acquires PrimeStaff

Twin Cities-based recruiting and staffing firm George Konik Associates acquired PrimeStaff, a technical recruiting and staffing agency based in Shoreview, Minn.

The combined firm will operate under the brand name Konik PrimeStaff. The transaction closed Sept. 5; terms were not announced.

Founded in 1974,...

Tennessee PEO operator gets eight-year prison sentence in workers’ comp scheme

The owner of Powell, Tenn.-based HR Comp LLC, a professional employer organization, was sentenced on Thursday to eight years in federal prison for conspiracy in a workers’ compensation scheme that involved collecting premiums for nonexistent workers’ comp policies, the US Department of Justice reported....

Chicago, South Florida hiring data give no indication of slowing expansion

The percentage of firms in the Chicago and South Florida markets with open finance/accounting and IT positions declined in a new survey released by staffing provider Brilliant when compared to a similar survey in the previous quarter. The percentage of firms with hiring plans also fell.

However, the survey’s...

People: Oasis Outsourcing, Ampcus, Insperity and more

Professional employer organization Oasis Outsourcing promoted Kerrin Jesson to senior VP of operations and Barbara Drames to senior VP of benefits. Jesson is now responsible for all aspects of operations as they relate to clients including payroll, benefits, implementations and compliance; she joined...

Uber loses license to operate in London (The New York Times)

Uber, one of the largest human cloud firms, lost its license to operate in London, The New York Times reported. Government agency Transport for London made the decision today not to renew Uber’s license. The license expires Monday, but the company has 21 days to appeal. The move is serious as London...

Unions accuse temporary foreign worker program of driving down wages, breaking Alberta law (The Tyee)

Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan said job postings by the federal government undermine the Alberta government’s ban on hiring foreign workers for 29 job categories in the province, The Tyee reports. Destination Canada, a federal government initiative, is hosting ads for Edmonton jobs...

BG Staffing acquires Chicago-based finance/accounting staffing firm; its ninth acquisition

BG Staffing Inc. (NYSE MKT: BGSF), a Plano, Texas-based staffing firm, acquired substantially all the assets of Smart Resources Inc., a privately held temporary and direct-hire finance and accounting staffing provider in Chicago.

Smart Resources had annual revenue of approximately $13.2 million in 2016....

Canadian staffing index posts modest growth in August

The Canadian staffing index, which measures staffing activity in Canada, rose 7% in August from July to a reading of 114. However, on a year-over-year basis, the index was up 4% in August.

“The August index value suggests moderate year-over-year growth,” says Maxim Kupfer, research associate at Staffing...

Law firms to increase first-year associate hiring, Robert Half Legal reports

Lawyers expect increased hiring of first-year associates in the next 12 months, according to a study released by Robert Half Legal. Nearly one-quarter of lawyers interviewed, 22%, said their law firm plans to increase its hiring of first-year associates in the next 12 months.

“Job opportunities for...

Jobless claims average up 6,000; initial claims fall as hurricane impact in Texas eases

The US four-week moving average of initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to 268,750 last week, up 6,000 from the previous week’s revised average, according to seasonally adjusted numbers released today by the US Department of Labor. The previous week’s average was revised downward by 500....