Staffing Industry grew in 2006
4/1/2007
The Microtech View
On business, the workplace and
employee relations
April, 2007
Onward!
The numbers are in for 2006
and the nation's staffing industry continued to spread throughout the American
economy For the fourth consecutive year staffing industry employment grew,
reaching 296 million average daily temporary help employees, according to the
American Staffing Association That's a 18 percent increase over 2005, a pace
that is slower than the prior year, but still on par with the rest of the
economy
We see two reasons for the gains: the economy and the unique offering of
temporary staffing firms Economic activity remained strong enough last year for
companies to add more employees, despite a slowing housing market and relatively
high interest rates compared to prior years But in many cases employers wanted
to expand their staff without adding permanent employees to their payrolls
Staffing firms such as Microtech offer companies workforce flexibility At the
same time, qualified employees looking for flexible work arrangements are using
staffing firms to reach their own career and lifestyle goals
Not all the news is encouraging, however The ASA survey showed that average
daily employment during the fourth quarter totaled about 307 million, down 15
percent from the same quarter in 2005 That's only one quarter, but it's notable
because the temporary employment industry is often a leading indicator of future
activity in the economy We've seen few forecasts calling for a downturn in
2007 But it is worth noting that one way companies guard against excessive
overhead when the economy slows is by having a portion of their staff made up of
temporary, short-term workers
For those periods HR directors and operations managers should look for a
staffing company that has a deep pool of qualified, pre-screened employees to
meet their needs At Microtech we're constantly recruiting new personnel
Gen Xers Up Next?
We're less than
four years away from when the leading edge of the Baby Boom generation, born in
1946, reaches the legal retirement age of 65 As they move out, members of
Generation X will move up in companies Or maybe not Demographers are
increasingly parsing the population with new names for relative slivers of
generations Here are some of the many cohorts waiting in line and the years of
their birth
- Generation Jones - 1954 to 1965
- Consciousness Revolution - 1964 to 1984
- Generation X - 1960s to 1980s
- MTV Generation - 1974-1985
- Boomerang Generation - 1977-1986
- Generation Y - 1970s to 1990s
- Millennial Generation - 1982-2000
- Echo Boom Generation - 1982-1995
- Internet Generation - 1994-2001
Local Staffing Matters
A story that
ran in the Boston Globe recently caught our attention, not because of its
subject, but because it was a news item generated by the New York Times wire
service For decades the Globe and Times were rivals and competitors But today
the Times owns the Globe and as the staff has been downsized changes such as
using even the Times' news service are happening It reminded us of the value of
a locally owned and operated business All of Microtech's offices are owned by
the managers on premise They know the local job scene, they're very familiar
with the companies in their region, and they're focused on being the best in
their markets
Work Wellness
Health
insurers and businesses are aggressively creating worksite wellness programs to
encourage workers to take better care of themselves and to control spiraling
health care costs The results have been generally positive Workers often catch
chronic illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure in their early,
treatable stages and are using fewer costly procedures such as surgeries or
emergency room treatments Employers are finding the programs worthwhile, as
they help to restrain premium growth and enable their employees to remain
productive Among the most popular wellness initiatives:
· Weight loss
·
Smoking cessation
· Discount gym memberships
· Free annual health
screenings
|
Regards,
Joe Donahue
President
