More than half of small businesses use agile workforces, Upwork research finds

More than half of small businesses, 58%, utilize agile workforces due to “greater interest among workers for flexible work arrangements,” according to research released today by online staffing provider Upwork. The data comes from a specific cut of results from small-business respondents to Upwork’s...

Private equity invests in IT staffing and RPO provider Motion Recruitment Partners

Private equity firm Littlejohn & Co. LLC announced an investment in Motion Recruitment Partners, a Boston-based firm that provides IT staffing through its Jobspring Partners and Workbridge Associates brands. Motion Recruitment is also the parent company of recruitment process outsourcing provider...

Enterprises underperforming in employee onboarding, study says

Employees who have negative new-hire onboarding experiences are twice as likely to look for new opportunities in the near future, according to the Employee Engagement study released today by Digitate, a software unit of Tata Consultancy Services.

Most new hires are dissatisfied with the onboarding process,...

Ontario bill to require job ads to include pay ranges, employers to start tracking gender pay gaps

All publicly advertised job postings in Ontario must include a salary rate or range starting on Jan. 1, 2019, under new legislation approved on Thursday, the Ontario Ministry of Labour announced.

The legislation also:

• Bars employers from asking job candidates about their past compensation.
• Prohibits...

GDP growth decelerates to annual rate of 2.3% in first quarter

US real gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 2.3% in the first quarter, according to the “advance” estimate of GDP growth released today by the US Commerce Department. This is down from 2.9% GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2017.

However, higher federal spending levels and...

Executive search firm FaithSearch Partners merges with Halftime Talent Solutions

FaithSearch Partners, a Dallas-based executive search firm for faith-based organizations, merged with Halftime Talent Solutions, a company specializing in leadership searches for mission-motivated nonprofit and for-profit clients. The deal broadens FaithSearch Partners’ search capabilities to ministries...

Half of workers older than 60 postponing retirement, CareerBuilder finds

Many US workers are delaying retirement despite an improving economy, according to a recent survey released by CareerBuilder.

The survey found 53% of workers aged 60-plus said they are postponing retirement, with 57% of men putting retirement on hold compared to 48% of women. Four in 10 workers, 40%,...

People: Hays Talent Solutions, Jobletics, MDstaffers, 99, Caldwell

Hays Talent Solutions appointed Eric Mesrits as head of services procurement. Mesrits specializes in strategic sourcing and procurement for large multinationals and previously held senior procurement roles at companies including Cisco, Ariba and Unisys. Hays Talent Solutions provides RPO, MSP and statement-of-work...

Russian startup’s robot can conduct 1,500 job interviews daily (The Washington Post)

The Washington Post reports a Russian startup created “Robot Vera,” an artificially intelligent software technology recruiter able to interview as many as 1,500 job candidates in one work day. Vera can speak Russian or English and is being employed by several hundred Russian companies,...

Uber is partially a charter party carrier, agency rules (San Francisco Examiner)

The California Public Utilities Commission voted Thursday to classify Uber partially as a charter party carrier, a designation usually used for towncars or limousines, due to the existence of Uber SUV and Uber Black services, the San Francisco Examiner newspaper reported. The human cloud, ride-sharing...