Small-business owners are predicting positive numbers for first quarter 2014 production, according to the SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard survey. The March survey found that 87 percent of respondents said they believe they will see business growth for the first three months of 2014.Michael Alter, SurePayroll CEO and president, said in a statement there are a few…

The number of Americans who filed for unemployment benefits hovered around a three-month low in the week that ended on March 15. That was also seen during the previous week. Jobless claims totaled 320,000, up 5,000 from the previous week, according to the Labor Department.Even though claims for unemployment grew from the previous week, the…

According to a new survey conducted by Bloomberg, employers are looking to hire more workers in the second quarter of 2014. In regards to hiring, 33 percent of survey respondents believe they will be adding more workers, including full-time and temporary workers, to their businesses in the second quarter. This projection is up from the…

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the New York manufacturing industry showed positive growth in March. The Empire State Manufacturing Index increased from 4.5 in February to 5.6 in March.The increase in March is a vast improvement from February, when the index dropped eight points from January. A reading greater than 0 indicates…

The U.S. producer price index decreased a bit in February, according to the Labor Department. The employment services producer price index, which gauges employment activity of placement and temporary worker agencies, decreased 0.1 percent from January. Prices for retailers, wholesalers and factories increased 0.2 percent in January, which may be a reason the index fell.John…

Jobless claims decreased in the week that ended March 8, which is a good sign the economy is improving. The number of people who filed for unemployment benefits decreased by 9,000 for the week to stand at a total of 315,000, according to the Labor Department. This is the lowest mark for jobless claims since…

The number of job openings in the U.S. increased in January. During the month, there were 60,000 job openings, which increased the current total amount of openings to 4 million, according to the Labor Department.The recent figures show employment is starting to increase throughout the country. Employment rose by 175,000 in February, which was a…

Despite the unemployment rate rising, the temporary staffing industry increased employment in February, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The U.S. added 24,400 temporary workers to payrolls in February, which increased the temporary penetration rate - temporary jobs compared to total nonfarm employment - to 2.03 percent in February from January's figure of…

Thanks to economic improvement, the staffing industry increased employment markedly in 2013, according to the American Staffing Association. The total amount of temporary and contract workers in 2013 was 11 million. The average amount of workers employed through temporary or contract work in 2013 was 3 million, a 4 percent increase from 2012.Temporary employment is beneficial…

The U.S. manufacturing industry showed positive growth in February, despite the harsh winter. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) index, which gauges manufacturing activity, increased to a reading of 53.2 for February, a jump for January's figure of 51.3, according to ISM.The growth in February is better than expected as respondents to a survey conducted by…