Posted on Tue, Mar 26, 2013
By Debbie Fledderjohann, Top Echelon Contracting President
Staffing firms are being brought into the ongoing debate about immigration reform.
U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley, D-Iowa, is introducing legislation that would prohibit staffing firms from bringing in H-1B visa holders, according to Staffing Industry Analysts. Specifically, it forbids companies from outsourcing H-1B holders to other companies, and companies would be required to sign a waiver attesting that they have not displaced a U.S. worker and that it is not a labor for hire arrangement.
Grassley wants to eliminate fraud in the H-1B program. On his website, he cites a 2008 Benefit Fraud and Compliance Assessment from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that showed a more than 20% violation rate by those participating in the H-IB visa program. He also states on his site that the top 10 companies using the program are offshoring firms that hold 50% of the available visas
This potential legislation has many in the staffing industry concerned, especially those serving the IT and engineering sectors. H-1B visas allow employers to hire foreign workers with specialized knowledge or technical expertise, such as scientists, engineers, or computer professions. In some locations, those sectors are experiencing skills shortages, and H-1B visas help them fill the gap.
News of this bill is coming as many staffing firms are scrambling to submit H-1B visa petitions subject to the Fiscal Year 2014 cap. The USCIS will start accepting petitions on April 1, and the 65,000 cap for those with bachelor's degrees is expected to be met within days.
The proposed legislation certainly won't be enacted in time to affect this year's petition period. In fact, it could be quite awhile before such legislation is passed. On Senator Grassley's website, he states that the legislation would "provide a good basis for H-1B reform in the comprehensive immigration bill being put together by a bipartisan group of senators." As updates are available, we will be sure to include them on this blog.
Posted on Thu, Feb 14, 2013
By Debbie Fledderjohann, Top Echelon Contracting President
One of the questions we get most often from recruiters looking to get into contract staffing is "What are the top industries for contract staffing?" That's why we analyze the contract placements that come through our back-office each year.
According to our 2012 placement statistics, the top seven sectors for contract staffing nationwide were:
- Healthcare - 29%
- Business Professionals and Support Staff - 25%
- Engineering and Manufacturing - 16%
- Information Technology - 11%
- Finance and Accounting - 10%
- HR/Legal/Recruiting - 7%
- Sales/Marketing - 2%
Healthcare has been a leading industry for contract staffing for years and is only getting stronger as the population continues to age. Healthcare contractors will likely be even more in demand when the Obamacare "individual mandate" begins requiring individuals to get healthcare coverage, which will send more consumers to an already overtaxed healthcare providers.
Last year, we increased our focus on helping recruiters make healthcare contract placements. We ran a number of Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech Language Pathologists, Pharmacists, Pharmacy Techs, and Registered Nurses (RNs) through our back-office in 2012. That trend has continued into 2013.
We also expanded our Workers' Comp coverage in 2012 to allow more Engineering and Manufacturing placements in a wider range of environments. This was our third largest sector in 2012.
We saw the largest jump in the placement of Business Professionals and Support Staff area, which increased 9% over 2011. Business Professionals and Support Staff were placed in a variety of industries and business sectors.
Posted on Tue, Oct 02, 2012
By Debbie Fledderjohann, Top Echelon Contracting President
Demand for temporary/contract workers in the professional sector is expected to exceed previous records in 2012 and 2013, according to Staffing Industry Analysts' U.S. Staffing Industry Forecast.
Specifically, the IT Staffing and Engineering/Design industry segments within the Professional/Specialty sector are expected to beat previous records for staffing revenue. IT Staffing's revenue previously peaked in 2000. This year, the industry is expected to generate 107% of 2000's revenue by the end of this year and 116% in 2013. In 2012, Engineering/Design is expected to bring in 106% of the revenue from its previous peak year of 2008 and 111% in 2013.
Meanwhile, the usage of "temps" in the office/clerical industry appears to be declining. It is projected that in 2012, the industry will only hit 85% of its previous 2006 peak and only 89% in 2013.
This correlates with what Top Echelon® Contracting has been experiencing. Engineering and IT have landed in our top three industries for contract placements for the past several years, and we are expecting the same for 2012. We have particularly seen an increase in the engineering/manufacturing sector and have begun accepting more placements in this area.
So what does this mean to you as a recruiter? Well first of all, if you are looking for a niche in which to offer contract staffing services, it's pretty clear that IT and Engineering are good places to start and have longevity.
Posted on Tue, Feb 21, 2012
By Debbie Fledderjohann, Top Echelon Contracting President
Contract staffing was a bright spot for the recruiting industry once again in 2011. As the economy tried to forge ahead, it appeared that many companies shifted their traditional direct-hire placements to contract placements.
As a result, Top Echelon Contracting experienced a 22% increase last year in the number of commercial contractors placed on long-term contract assignments in the technical, professional, and healthcare arenas. This represents 17 years of growth since 1992.
We tracked our contract placements throughout the United States in 2011 and determined the following hottest industries for contract staffing:
- 32% - Healthcare (Professionals: PT, OT, SLP, Pharm, Nurses, but not Doctors)
- 18% - Engineering and Manufacturing (Professional and Technical)
- 16% - Business Professionals and Support Staff (All industries)
- 13% - Information Technology (All areas, levels, platforms, etc.)
- 11% - Finance and Accounting (All levels, except CFOs)
- 8% - HR/Legal/Recruiting (All levels, except Attorneys)
- 2% - Miscellaneous
Posted on Fri, Feb 11, 2011
By Debbie Fledderjohann, Top Echelon Contracting President
As President of Top Echelon Contracting, I was recently asked to write an article for The Fordyce Letter on the recent surge in contract staffing and the future of contracting in 2011. That article is now available on the Fordyce Letter Web site.
The article is a more in-depth report of the contract staffing trend that we have reported on numerous times on this blog. Here are some of the key points from the article:
- According to statistics from the Department of Labor and The American Staffing Association (ASA), contract staffing was up by at least 20 percent last year.
- Top Echelon Contracting's own numbers showed an 8.6 percent surge in contract placements in 2010. This followed a 26 percent increase between 2006 and 2009.
- Healthcare was the biggest industry for contract placements last year, followed by Engineering/Manufacturing and Information Technology.
- This growth in contract staffing is likely to continue, and contract placements could eventually become more common than direct-hires.
Posted on Wed, Feb 09, 2011
By Debbie Fledderjohann, Top Echelon Contracting President
Not only is contracting becoming more popular, it is also becoming more lucrative for contractors.
Citing data from the Yoh Index of Technology Wages, Human Resources Executive Online has reported that hourly wages for skilled temporary workers increased 4.3 percent between last November and December after hitting a four-year low in September. This hike includes workers in Information Technology, Healthcare, and Engineering, which, according to numbers tracked by Top Echelon Contracting last year, are currently three of the hottest areas for contract staffing.
This is particularly encouraging because temporary/contract wages tend to be lower in December. Some experts believe this increase could be a good sign for the job market in general and that it may signal a future war for talent for these skilled workers.
Photo Credit:
Tracy O
Posted on Fri, Jan 21, 2011
By Debbie Fledderjohann, Top Echelon Contracting President
As the nation slowing emerged from "The Great Recession," 2010 became a big year for contracting. No longer relegated to entry-level office positions, contract placements were found in nearly every professional, technical, and healthcare occupation.
Top Echelon Contracting tracked its contract placements throughout the United States in 2010. The numbers show the hottest areas for contracting were:
- 33% - Healthcare (Professionals: PT, OT, SLP, Pharm, Nurses, but not Doctors)
- 20% - Engineering and Manufacturing (Professional and Technical)
- 13% - Information Technology (All areas, levels, platforms, etc.)
- 13% - Business Professionals and Support Staff (All industries)
- 12% - Finance and Accounting (All levels, except CFOs)
- 5% - HR/Legal/Recruiting (All levels, except Attorneys)
- 3% - Insurance/Real Estate (All levels)
- 1% - Miscellaneous
But don't assume that clients that are not in one of these industries are not interested in hiring contractors. You may be surprised to learn that 70-80% of companies utilize contract staffing. Recruiters also tell us that 87.5% of their contract placements come from their direct-hire clients. So the best way to find out which client companies are utilizing contractors is to simply ask them.
Posted on Fri, Sep 24, 2010
By Debbie Fledderjohann, Top Echelon Contracting President
Contracting is a great way to add more predictable cash flow to your recruiting business, especially now as companies that are finally hiring again turn to contract staffing rather than permanent hiring to meet their needs. But when seeking contract job orders, you may want to go about it a little differently than you would if you were trying to pick up perm orders.
For starters, you may not want to start with human resources. After working with recruiters for 18 years,Top Echelon Contracting has learned that contract job openings more often come from hiring managers and department heads. These are the individuals with projects to complete and deadlines to meet. This is good news for you because, unlike HR, they are not looking for the perfect candidate who along with being a good worker must be a cultural fit for the organization. They are looking for someone who simply has the qualifications to get the job done, and they want that person to come on board quickly so they can get their projects done on deadline. For this reason, closing a contract job order is often much quicker than sealing a direct-hire deal.
You may also want to look at the size of the companies you are courting for contract job orders. If you typically only approach larger companies, you may want to rethink this. Our experience indicates that medium-size businesses tend to have more contract job openings. And, unlike large organizations, these smaller employers are less likely to dictate really tight profit margins.
Finally, you may want to step outside your niche to find more contract staffing business. We typically place a lot of contractors in healthcare, Information Technology (IT), and engineering contract positions. That’s not to say you can’t find contracting business in other niches, but if you are looking to broaden your horizons, these areas are definitely worth looking into.
Posted on Mon, Jul 12, 2010
By Debbie Fledderjohann, Top Echelon Contracting President
It’s hard to believe that any employers in today’s economic climate would be worried about not finding enough workers, but according to a recent article by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), American utility companies are bracing for an upcoming labor shortage.
According to the article, titled “Can They Keep Our Lights On?” (only accessible by SHRM members), 30-40 percent of workers in the electric power industry alone will be eligible to retire by 2013. Similar trends are expected in the other utilties. The shortages are expected in nearly every position, including executives and engineers.
So are utilities an area that you, as a recruiter, may want to pursue? How can you help current or future utility industry clients fulfill their staffing needs? Well, you may want to start by offering contracting services. There are a number of ways that contracting can help. As we’ve mentioned in previous blog articles, many Baby Boomers are not quite ready to bow out of the workforce entirely, but they do want more work-life balance. So maybe a utility client could retain some of their older workers as contractors so that they could provide their skills and knowledge to younger workers on more of a consulting, part-time basis. And if they do suddenly lose a skilled engineer or executive to retirement, hiring a contractor with experience in utilities could help them bridge the gap until they find a more permanent solution.
Because utility jobs are highly skilled and knowledge-intensive, it is important to find the right fit. Contracting can also help with this by allowing utility companies to hire workers on a trial, contract basis. A contractor could work/train under more experienced workers, and if he/she doesn’t catch on, the company could simply end the assignment. Or if company likes what they see during the trial period, they could then extend a direct offer to the contractor.
Top Echelon Contracting has already noted previous blog posts that engineering is one of the hottest areas for contract placements, and since that is one of the main areas utility companies are concerned about, contracting seems like a natural fit. If your other sources of placements have run dry in this difficult economic environment, utilities may be a new source to tap into!
Posted on Thu, Jun 03, 2010
By Debbie Fledderjohann, Top Echelon Contracting President
Over the past few months, we have posted links to many articles out in the World Wide Web indicating that the economy is recovering, if not a little slower than everyone would like, and that contract staffing specifically has increased. Well, from our perspective, contracting seemed to stay strong throughout the recession, but our statistics do show that there has been an even larger increase in contract placements recently.
In the first quarter of 2010, Top Echelon Contracting experienced a 6% increase in contract placements over the same quarter in 2009. The areas where we have seen the biggest increases are in Engineering/Manufacturing and in Information Technology fields. Here are the positions we are placing most often:
| Engineering/Manufacturing
- Quality Engineer
- Field Engineer
- Design Engineer
- Testing Engineer
- Tooling Engineer
- Controls Engineer
- Resource Efficiency Manager
- Linux Device Driver Engineer
- Mechanical Design Engineer
- Production Planner
- Quality Control Test Analyst
- Design Verification Engineer
- Senior Process Controls Engineer
- Quality Inspector
- Senior Electronics Engineer
|
Information Technology
- EDI Coordinator
- Access Programmer
- Global Non-SAP Application Dev.
- SQL Server DBA Developer
- Web Developer
- CNC Programmer/Design Specialist
- Access Developer
- Systems Analyst
- Senior Systems Analyst
- Meditech LIS Consultant
- Systems Manager
- SQL Database Administrator
- NET Developer
- Network Administrator
- Programmer Analyst
|