NH and Staffing Industry are Growing

The Staffing View



On business, the workplace and employee relations

_July, 2011





Micro Tech's Featured Job Openings for July



Architect, Atlanta, GA

Microtech Staffing is seeking intern and registered architects for our Atlanta clients Must have background in the commercial industry Registered candidates must be able to manage multiple projects, work and manage P&L's, meet deadlines, etc Positions are contract to hire Intern candidates must have good cad skills and be able to design and detail drawings



Maintenance Supervisor, Research Triangle Park, NC

Salary: $25 per hour

Ability to manage multiple shifts All preventative maintenance Extensive knowledge of PLC's and electrical troubleshooting Replacing motors, gears and pneumatic lines



PHP/Moodle Developer, Burlington, MA

Contract to Perm

Salary: $40 per hour

Our client, an elearning company, is looking for a strong PHP developer who has worked in a LAMP environment Also, experience with NET is required Moodle or LMS experience is a huge plus




How Does New Hampshire Do It?



In New England, New Hampshire is regularly among the leaders in job growth and often acclaimed for its state budget management But with a lack of broad-based taxes and relatively low levels of public spending, lawmakers from the region's other five states are often left to ask "How does New Hampshire do it?"



According to a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston it's not just keeping to the state's motto to "Live Free or Die" Rather, New Hampshire has benefited from favorable circumstances such as a low poverty rate, which reduce the need for government spending, and tough policy choices by state and local officials that might not work in states with different preferences for public services



According to the Boston Fed report, New Hampshire is able to manage without having a state income or sales tax partly because "governments there simply spend considerably less, on average, than their neighbors" In fiscal year 2007, the year studied in the report, New Hampshire state and local governments combined spent $6,442 per capita - 20 percent less than the New England average



As a high-income state (median household income is the highest in New England at $67,508 in fiscal year 2007) with the lowest poverty rate in the region (75 percent of the population below the poverty line), there is less need for government services In fact the lower need for services and lower associated costs account for about 40 percent of the gap between New Hampshire's per capita spending and the New England average



The Boston Fed report says that the remaining 60 percent of that spending gap is partly related to the fact that New Hampshire governments have made choices to limit the size or scope of public services New Hampshire has restrictive income eligibility criteria for Medicaid There's an absence of state-funded pre-kindergarten education programs, and limited availability of public hospitals The state ranks last in New England in per capital total direct spending on education services, social services, transportation, public safety, environment and housing, and government administration



Of course New Hampshire isn't completely tax free The report points out that, in addition to the state and local government's heavy reliance on the property tax - 16 percent higher than the regional average - its revenues come from a number of sources There is a business profits tax and a business enterprise tax, which is actually a tax on income only done so as a levy on the wages and salaries that businesses pay, rather than on individuals The state charges a tax on meals and rooms, tobacco, communications, real estate transfers, and interest and dividends But it is the lack of a traditional income tax, as well as the sales tax, that gives New Hampshire its low-tax reputation



While many low-tax proponents will argue that New Hampshire is a more attractive state to businesses because of its tax and spending policies, the Boston Fed paper did not try to quantify that connection It pointed out that other factors contribute to the state's economic success such as its educated workforce, the state's regulatory climate and the quality of life in the Granite State



Manufacturing and the South



During the Great Recession, the southern states were harder hit than the nation in general, including the region's manufacturing sector From the end of 2007 through early 2010, total nonfarm employment in the South declined by 7 percent, while manufacturing dropped 165 percent, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Nationally employment declined 575 percent and manufacturing jobs dropped 155 percent during the same period



But people in the South are hoping that Richmond Fed President Jeffrey M Lacker is right when he says "the deeper the decline, the stronger the recovery" So far he's been correct Most Southern states have been adding jobs more rapidly than the rest of the country, both in manufacturing and overall
But Lacker is concerned that this recovery may turn out to be "qualitatively" different from others In particular, he's seen a reluctance of many employers to add workers in the face of rising demand



"As we talk with manufacturers across the Richmond Fed's District, we are hearing again and again that manufacturers are determined to keep their head count down as much as possible, whether through increasing productivity or extending hours or just working harder," he said recently during a speech in Roanoke, Va "Even where manufacturers are seeing increasing orders, their uncertainty about the strength and sustainability of this recovery as well as the future regulatory and tax environment appears to be holding them back from hiring"



Hopefully employers will soon gain the confidence they need to bring on more workers In the meantime Lacker says new industries in the South requiring high-skill labor, such as autos, aerospace, and pharmaceuticals, are exporting around the world and helping to offset the job loss that the region has suffered to low-cost countries in textiles and apparel Growing global demand for the South's commodities such as coal and agricultural products is also a plus for future employment



As those companies in high-skill sectors look to expand, Microtech Staffing Group will help them meet their needs by recruiting and screening qualified professionals



Staffing Sector Rebounds in 2010



The final numbers are in for the staffing industry in 2010 and it was a remarkable year According to the American Staffing Association, the nation's staffing companies created 401,000 jobs, the largest annual increase since the industry's record gain of 428,000 jobs in 1994

Foreshadowing the national economic recovery that would occur in late 2010 and early 2011, the staffing industry employed 26 million workers on an average business day last year, 184 percent more than in 2009 That's the highest rate of growth since 1993-1994, when the industry was up more than 25 percent per year



Microtech Staffing Group and its affiliate offices were full participants in the sector's employment surge Our average daily employment was up dramatically as we continued to provide qualified professionals to match our clients' unique needs



"During the recession we stayed in close contact with our clients and continued our recruitment and screening practices," said Joseph Donahue, president of Microtech Staffing Group "When employers felt confident enough to add to their workforces we were ready to supply them the personnel they needed"



Though the staffing industry typically experiences a seasonal drop-off during the first quarter of each year, in the first three months of 2011average daily employment totaled 26 million, 143 percent more than in the same quarter of 2010



"Staffing employment reflects the economy," says Richard Wahlquist, ASA president and chief executive officer "As the economy emerged from the recession, businesses turned to flexible staffing solutions to meet increases in demand for their products and services Even with economic growth slowing in the second quarter of this year, staffing companies continue to offer untapped employment opportunities for job seekers Businesses have been increasingly interested in temporary-to-permanent placements"



Temporary and contract staffing sales totaled $874 billion in 2010, 213 percent more than in 2009 In the first quarter of 2011, sales increased 195 percent from the same quarter last year to $228 billion