Agreement Marks Second New ASA Corporate Partnership in 2025 The American Staffing Association has announced ConverzAI, pioneers of AI Virtual Recruiter and Voice AI platform for the staffing and recruiting industry, as the newest member of the ASA corporate partner program. An ASA corporate partnership represents the highest level of support for the association and...
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]]>The American Staffing Association has announced ConverzAI, pioneers of AI Virtual Recruiter and Voice AI platform for the staffing and recruiting industry, as the newest member of the ASA corporate partner program.
An ASA corporate partnership represents the highest level of support for the association and the U.S. staffing, recruiting, and talent solutions industry. ConverzAI’s support will allow ASA to both strengthen its current programs and initiatives and explore new opportunities to support its members.
“ConverzAI’s cutting-edge technology can help staffing and recruiting firms grow their revenue potential,” said ASA chief executive officer, Richard Wahlquist. “The partnership with ConverzAI will play a key role in helping ASA serve as the leading voice for the staffing and recruiting industry in the future.”
“The partnership between ConverzAI and the American Staffing Association signifies a powerful alliance committed to advancing the staffing industry,” said Ashwarya Poddar, founder & CEO of ConverzAI. “This collaboration embodies our shared dedication to driving innovation and accelerating industry-wide transformation, while improving staffing delivery and outcomes for customers of staffing companies. Together, we’re championing a future where the staffing industry can stay ahead of the tech curve, workers thrive, and businesses achieve superior results
Discover how ConverzAI is transforming staffing at converzai.com. For more information on the American Staffing Association, please visit americanstaffing.net.
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About the American Staffing Association
The American Staffing Association is the voice of the U.S. staffing, recruiting, and workforce solutions industry. ASA and its state affiliates advance the interests of the industry across all sectors through advocacy, research, education, and the promotion of high standards of legal, ethical, and professional practices. For more information about ASA, visit americanstaffing.net.
About ConverzAI
ConverzAI empowers staffing companies with an AI virtual recruiter solution that autonomously completes and optimizes various aspects of the recruitment process, delivering unprecedented scale, speed, and efficiency. For more information regarding ConverzAI, please visit converzai.com.
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]]>Multiyear Agreement Supports ASA Members and Initiatives The American Staffing Association has announced benefits administration provider Benefits in a Card as the newest member of ASA’s corporate partner program. ASA corporate partnerships represent the highest level of support for the association, its members, and the U.S. staffing, recruiting, and talent solutions industry. The new alliance...
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]]>The American Staffing Association has announced benefits administration provider Benefits in a Card as the newest member of ASA’s corporate partner program.
ASA corporate partnerships represent the highest level of support for the association, its members, and the U.S. staffing, recruiting, and talent solutions industry. The new alliance with Benefits in a Card will strengthen current association projects and services as well as support future initiatives.
“Benefits in a Card’s innovative and practical services provide critical benefits support to staffing agencies throughout the country,” said Richard Wahlquist, chief executive officer at ASA. “We’re excited to work with Benefits in a Card to advance the interests of the staffing, recruiting, and industry solutions industries in the coming year.”
“The partnership between Benefits in a Card and the American Staffing Association brings together two organizations dedicated to the success and well-being of the staffing industry,” Carl Stecker, chief executive officer at Benefits in a Card, said. “This collaboration represents our shared vision for the future: improving retention, streamlining operations, and promoting the health and well-being of temporary workers.”
For more information on the American Staffing Association, please visit americanstaffing.net. For more information on Benefits in a Card, please visit benefitsinacard.com.
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About the American Staffing Association
The American Staffing Association is the voice of the U.S. staffing, recruiting, and workforce solutions industry. ASA and its state affiliates advance the interests of the industry across all sectors through advocacy, research, education, and the promotion of high standards of legal, ethical, and professional practices. For more information about ASA, visit americanstaffing.net.
About Benefits in a Card
For over 30 years, Benefits in a Card, along with their family of companies, has proudly served the staffing industry by delivering specialized benefit solutions tailored to the needs of temporary employees and the companies that hire them. For more information, visit benefitsinacard.com.
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]]>The post Hire Energy Accelerates Growth Strategy with Strategic Acquisition of PeopleZone Staffing and Mid-South Healthcare Acquisition appeared first on American Staffing Association.
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]]>ASA Staffing Index Monthly Report, December 2024 Four in 10 Staffing Firms Report Gains in New Assignments Staffing employment edged up in the week of Dec. 9–15, with the ASA Staffing Index increasing by 0.3% to a rounded value of 89, where it has hovered for much of the year. Staffing jobs were 8.9% below...
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]]>Staffing employment edged up in the week of Dec. 9–15, with the ASA Staffing Index increasing by 0.3% to a rounded value of 89, where it has hovered for much of the year. Staffing jobs were 8.9% below the same week last year, an improvement over the year-to-year gap of 10.0% observed in the prior week.
New starts grew in the 50th week of the year, rising 8.5% from the prior week. Four in 10 staffing companies (40%) reported gains in new assignments week to week, just shy of the average of 41% for the year.
The ASA Staffing Index four-week moving average inched down from the prior week but held at a rounded value of 88, and temporary and contract staffing employment for the four weeks ending Dec. 15 was 9.8% lower than the same period in 2023.
“Staffing employment has been subdued but steady for much of 2024, and that remains true within the final stretch of the year,” said Noah Yosif, chief economist at ASA. “Although momentum is likely to slow toward the end of the month, elevated levels of economic activity could minimize the dip into 2025.”
This week will be used in the December monthly employment situation report scheduled to be issued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Jan. 10.
The ASA Staffing Index is reported nine days after each workweek, making it a near real-time measure of staffing employment trends. ASA Staffing Starts are the number of temporary and contract employees placed in new assignments during the reporting week. ASA research shows that staffing employment has historically been a coincident economic indicator.
For more information, visit americanstaffing.net/index. Or follow ASA research on Twitter.
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The American Staffing Association is the voice of the U.S. staffing, recruiting, and workforce solutions industry. ASA and its state affiliates advance the interests of the industry across all sectors through advocacy, research, education, and the promotion of high standards of legal, ethical, and professional practices. For more information about ASA, visit americanstaffing.net.
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]]>Average Weekly Employment Down by 1.8% U.S. staffing companies employed an average of 2.1 million temporary and contract workers per week in the third quarter of 2024, a decline of 38,000 jobs from the previous quarter, according to data released today by the American Staffing Association. Staffing employment continued to feel the effects of a...
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]]>U.S. staffing companies employed an average of 2.1 million temporary and contract workers per week in the third quarter of 2024, a decline of 38,000 jobs from the previous quarter, according to data released today by the American Staffing Association.
Staffing employment continued to feel the effects of a cooling labor market , and the association’s quarterly Staffing Employment and Sales Survey indicated that the average weekly number of temporary and contract workers in the field in the third quarter contracted by 1.8% from the second quarter and 11.7% on a year-to-year basis.
Staffing employment has declined for seven consecutive quarters.
Temporary and contract staffing sales totaled $30.7 billion in the third quarter of 2024, a 0.7% decline from the previous quarter and an 11.4% decline from the third quarter of the previous year.
As in 2023, this contraction again bucks the seasonal trend of consistent sequential growth within most of the staffing industry from the second to fourth quarters.
Nevertheless, private staffing companies expect their 1Q25 revenue to increase a median of 5.0% year-to-year, with larger companies ($100 million in sales or higher) expecting a median projection of 2.0%.
“Following the postpandemic hiring spree in 2021 and 2022, businesses found themselves with full and overflowing talent benches. Then, in the face of growing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, employers hit the pause button on hiring, dampening staffing industry sales and employment,” said ASA chief executive officer Richard Wahlquist.
“However, the staffing industry is looking forward to a return to growth in 2025 as conditions normalize and increases in labor market demand begin to spread across more than just a handful of industry sectors.
“In 2025 the staffing industry will continue doing what it does best—putting Americans to work.”
To learn more about the quarterly ASA Staffing Employment and Sales Survey, visit americanstaffing.net/quarterly-survey or follow ASA research on X.
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The American Staffing Association is the voice of the U.S. staffing, recruiting, and workforce solutions industry. ASA and its state affiliates advance the interests of the industry across all sectors through advocacy, research, education, and the promotion of high standards of legal, ethical, and professional practices. For more information about ASA, visit americanstaffing.net.
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]]>In September, ASA reported that the city of Denver had warned clients of online job platform Instawork of their potential liability for Instawork’s misclassification of workers as independent contractors (Staffing Today, Sept. 18, 2024). The city meant business. On Nov. 27, the labor division of the auditor’s office of the city of Denver issued a...
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]]>In September, ASA reported that the city of Denver had warned clients of online job platform Instawork of their potential liability for Instawork’s misclassification of workers as independent contractors (Staffing Today, Sept. 18, 2024). The city meant business.
On Nov. 27, the labor division of the auditor’s office of the city of Denver issued a “Liability and Penalty Determination” against Instawork client Great Events of Colorado, which provided event management and related traffic control and venue security services.
The labor division had previously found that Instawork had misclassified nearly 3,000 people as independent contractors and ordered the firm to pay thousands of dollars in restitution and fines. In a related investigation, the division found that its client GEC failed to provide paid rest breaks to one of the workers and illegally retaliated against him after he complained to a supervisor. GEC was ordered to pay back wages, damages, and penalties and reinstate the worker’s ability to work through the platform.
This is the second case (to the knowledge of ASA) in which a client has been charged with employment law violations based on its use of misclassified workers obtained through a job platform. Last year, certified nursing assistants sued a nursing home operator for back wages, alleging misclassification. The CNAs had been assigned to the nursing home as independent contractors by Shiftkey, which was not named in the suit. The case is pending—see Deleon v. Medicalodges Inc., U.S. District Court, Kansas, Civil Action No: 2:23-cv-2224.
In a separate action, in a conference call last week the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment advised ASA and the Colorado Staffing Association, an ASA-affiliated chapter, that the department had launched a formal misclassification investigation of Kare, an online health care job platform. The department said it also was looking at another health care platform, which it did not name because the investigation was in its early stages. The department said that clients of job platforms also might be the subject of enforcement activity.
At least one other jurisdiction has been aggressively targeting job platforms. San Francisco filed suit last year against Qwick, an online platform, for worker misclassification (Staffing Today, Feb. 26, 2024). The city recently advised ASA that it had filed another complaint against online platform WorkWhile, alleging that the firm “flouts the long-established industry norm whereby temporary staffing companies treat these types of workers as employees.” The city has not yet charged platform clients.
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]]>Houston local and Airswift chief executive officer, Janette Marx, has been named the 2025 chair of the American Staffing Association’s board of directors, the association announced. Elected recently by the board during Staffing World®, the ASA annual convention and expo, Marx has worked in the recruitment industry for over 25 years. As CEO of Airswift...
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]]>Houston local and Airswift chief executive officer, Janette Marx, has been named the 2025 chair of the American Staffing Association’s board of directors, the association announced.
Elected recently by the board during Staffing World®, the ASA annual convention and expo, Marx has worked in the recruitment industry for over 25 years. As CEO of Airswift since June 2018, Marx is focused on growing the company to become the No.1 provider for its customers and the employer of choice for its employees and contractors.
Since she joined the leadership team, Airswift has expanded exponentially, growing geographically, and having gained market share in key adjacent industries. Prior to joining Airswift, Marx spent 19 years at Adecco—ultimately running the engineering, technical, medical, and science divisions.
“ASA is a driving force for growth, collaboration, and innovation in the staffing industry today,” Marx said. “I am eager to work with my colleagues in the industry to shape the future of staffing in the coming months.”
“Janette Marx is a proven leader with a strong vision for the staffing industry and its potential,” said Richard Wahlquist, chief executive officer at ASA. “Under Janette’s leadership, ASA will open new pathways to support and elevate the industry’s role in the economy and contributions to people, organizations, and society.”
Marx holds a bachelor’s degree in business management and a master of business administration degree from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
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About the American Staffing Association
The American Staffing Association is the voice of the U.S. staffing, recruiting, and workforce solutions industry. ASA and its state affiliates advance the interests of the industry across all sectors through advocacy, research, education, and the promotion of high standards of legal, ethical, and professional practices. For more information about ASA, visit americanstaffing.net.
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]]>ASA Staffing Index Monthly Report, November 2024 Year-to-Year Gap Widens, New Starts Down Staffing employment inched down during the week of Nov. 11-17, with the ASA Staffing Index decreasing by 0.2% to a rounded value of 89. Staffing jobs were down 11.4% compared with the same week last year, widening the gap by nearly a...
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]]>Staffing employment inched down during the week of Nov. 11-17, with the ASA Staffing Index decreasing by 0.2% to a rounded value of 89. Staffing jobs were down 11.4% compared with the same week last year, widening the gap by nearly a percentage point from 10.5% the previous week. Staffing companies listed no one primary factor that prevented further growth.
New starts fell in the 46th week of the year, decreasing 11.6% from the prior week. Close to half of all staffing companies (45%) reported gains in new assignments week-to-week, equal to this year’s per-week average.
The ASA Staffing Index four-week moving average decreased from the prior week but held at a rounded value of 90, and temporary and contract staffing employment for the four weeks ending Nov. 17 was 10.2% lower than the same period in 2023.
“A meager dip below baseline levels suggests more sideways momentum in staffing employment. The lack of growth or further erosion in staffing employment for much of 2024 affirms that employers recognize the unique value provided by temporary workers and the staffing industry but must wait to take advantage of it due to increased economic turbulence. With the holiday season fast approaching and the seasonal fluctuations that accompany it, the ASA Staffing Index may not rebound back to baseline until next year,” said Noah Yosif, chief economist at ASA.
This week will be used in the November monthly employment situation report scheduled to be issued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Dec. 6.
The ASA Staffing Index is reported nine days after each workweek, making it a near real-time measure of staffing employment trends. ASA Staffing Starts are the number of temporary and contract employees placed in new assignments during the reporting week. ASA research shows that staffing employment has historically been a coincident economic indicator.
For more information, visit americanstaffing.net/index. Or follow ASA research on Twitter.
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The American Staffing Association is the voice of the U.S. staffing, recruiting, and workforce solutions industry. ASA and its state affiliates advance the interests of the industry across all sectors through advocacy, research, education, and the promotion of high standards of legal, ethical, and professional practices. For more information about ASA, visit americanstaffing.net.
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]]>By Anthony Sbardellati, Esq. In Walters v. Professional Labor Group LLC, 120 F. Fourth 546 (Seventh Cir. 2024), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that employers are required to compensate their employees for time spent traveling between their homes and the location of their travel assignments when (1) the employees will remain at the...
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]]>In Walters v. Professional Labor Group LLC, 120 F. Fourth 546 (Seventh Cir. 2024), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that employers are required to compensate their employees for time spent traveling between their homes and the location of their travel assignments when (1) the employees will remain at the remote location overnight and (2) the travel occurs during the employees’ “workday.” In addition to being compensable, the court held that the hours spent traveling count toward weekly overtime.
The Walters decision clarified that the “normal rule” found in 29 CFR §785.35 that employers rely on to avoid paying their employees for the time spent commuting to and from work does not apply when employees travel to a remote location where they will remain overnight for a number of days or weeks. Instead, employers placing employees on travel assignments are required to compensate them for the time spent traveling between their homes and their remote work locations—assuming that travel occurs during the employees’ “workday”—in accordance with 29 CFR §785.39, which provides
Travel that keeps an employee away from home overnight is travel away from home. Travel away from home is clearly worktime when it cuts across the employee’s workday. The employee is simply substituting travel for other duties. The time is not only hours worked on regular working days during normal working hours but also during the corresponding hours on nonworking days.
To illustrate the implications of this rule, the Walters court provided the following example, which is also found in the applicable regulation: “If an employee regularly works 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday the travel time during these hours is [compensable] worktime on Saturday and Sunday as well as on the other days.”
The practical implications of the Walters decision are not entirely clear, because the court declined to explain what constitutes an employee’s “workday,” including in the context of employees whose “workday” differs from assignment to assignment or even within the same assignment. However, the court rejected numerous arguments made by the defendant staffing company, including (1) that compensation is not required because overnight commuting to remote client sites for an extended assignment lasting days or weeks is the norm in the industry; (2) travel could not possibly cut across the employees’ workdays because they do not begin working until they arrive at the client’s job site; (3) employers are only obligated to pay for travel time when the travel actually substitutes for the performance of other work duties; and (4) travel did not occur during the employees’ workday because their work and/or employment commenced at the time they reported to the client site for work.
Although this decision is technically only binding in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin (the states that encompass the Seventh Circuit), the decision is well reasoned, directly supported by the applicable federal regulations, and may be adopted nationwide. In other words, the implications of the Walters ruling on staffing companies that place employees on assignments away from home are significant and potentially far-reaching.
In light of this decision, the safest course for staffing companies that place employees on travel assignments in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin is to pay those employees at least the applicable minimum wage for the time it takes them to travel between their homes and their assignment locations, door to door, both to and from their assignments. Because the Walters decision is well reasoned and directly supported by the text of the applicable regulation, the most conservative approach to avoid litigation risk is to adopt such a policy nationwide.
Anthony Sbardellati is a litigation partner at Akerman LLP.
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]]>At a time when 45% of Americans say they’re likely to look for a job in the next year (referred to as job seekers), four out of 10 unemployed job seekers report not having a single job interview over the past 12 months, according to the latest Workforce Monitor® report from the American Staffing Association...
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]]>At a time when 45% of Americans say they’re likely to look for a job in the next year (referred to as job seekers), four out of 10 unemployed job seekers report not having a single job interview over the past 12 months, according to the latest Workforce Monitor® report from the American Staffing Association and The Harris Poll.
The survey results paint a stark picture of the jobs market at a time when the economy is feeling the lingering effects of historic interest rate hikes:
Americans did share a positive view of the staffing industry, with two-thirds of Americans overall and of likely job seekers (67% each) saying that staffing agencies make finding a job easier.
“Far too many job seekers are feeling lost when it comes to effectively navigating the process of finding new employment,” said Richard Wahlquist, chief executive officer at ASA. “There’s clearly a disconnect between the expectations of candidates and their understanding of current labor market conditions and of understanding of what employers are looking for.
“If you want to get hired in today’s environment, you need to stand out from the competition and be flexible.
“Staffing agency recruiters are employment specialists who, without any charge to candidates, will act as a career coach and talent agent – creating relevant and impactful résumés, securing interviews, and helping job seekers gain access to opportunities that they could not find on their own,” Wahlquist continued.
“If job seekers feel like their résumés are going into a black hole, it may be because they’re posting the same generic one-click résumé, over and over. You will likely never get your foot in the door, if you don’t take the time to put your best foot forward.”
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The American Staffing Association is the voice of the U.S. staffing, recruiting, and workforce solutions industry. ASA and its state affiliates advance the interests of the industry across all sectors through advocacy, research, education, and the promotion of high standards of legal, ethical, and professional practices. For more information about ASA, visit americanstaffing.net.
This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of ASA from August 13–15, 2024 among 2,077 adults ages 18 and older, of whom 1,267 are employed. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/-2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level.
For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact Megan Sweeney at [email protected].
The American Staffing Association is the voice of the U.S. staffing, recruiting, and workforce solutions industry. ASA and its state affiliates advance the interests of the industry across all sectors through advocacy, research, education, and the promotion of high standards of legal, ethical, and professional practices. For more information about ASA, visit americanstaffing.net.
The ASA Workforce Monitor® is a periodic survey commissioned by ASA and conducted online by The Harris Poll among 2,000 or more U.S. adults age 18 and older. The survey series focuses on current workforce trends and issues. For more information about the survey series, visit americanstaffing.net/workforcemonitor.
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