According to a recent AP survey...WASHINGTON (AP) -- A new survey of chief executives says a majority of America's largest companies plan to increase hiring in the next six months and more than 90 percent expect sales to rise. The Business Roundtable http://businessroundtable.org/ says "52 percent of its members plan to step up hiring. That's the largest proportion for the group since it began surveying its members nine years ago. The trade group represents CEOs from the nation's 200 largest companies. More than 60 percent also plan to spend more on long-lasting manufactured goods, such as computers and machinery. Still, the executives expect the overall economy to grow only a modest 2.9 percent this year. That's up from their forecast three months ago of 2.5 percent. [However] The survey was conducted in early March, before the crisis in Japan."
What does this mean for contract assignments, temporary staffing, and/or project-based work? Well - it is widely accepted and known observation that - as we have just witnessed for the past 18 months in particular - temp staffing has been on the upswing. And - as predicted - we can now see the rest of the hiring trend materializing in this increase in non-farm, direct-hire employment. Increases (and decreases) in (temp) staffing jobs are a very reliable earning warning system – and a true economic and employment indicator. For example – an increase in demand for contract workers (temps, casual employees, project-based help), foretells by many months in advance – of an increase in direct-hire employment and overall job creation. Research conducted on this topic by the American Staffing Association http://www.americanstaffing.net (of which this blogger is a Member) “adds important nuance to the conventional wisdom that the temporary help industry is a coincident economic indicator and a leading employment indicator.”
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