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Structural changes ahead for employment as joblessness increases

Posted on February 27th, 2014 Read time: 1 minutes

In a recent interview with Staffing Industry, Peter Sheahan, CEO of Changelabs, shared some of his thoughts on the changes happening in the staffing industry. According to Sheahan, there is a talent revolution occurring at this very moment. As he explains it, companies are beginning to outsource more and more, and this is causing a structural change. Temporary workers are becoming the new standard for labor, and human resources is being completely outsourced as back office support. This is what Sheahan means by revolution.

He also argues that staffing companies should stop focusing on price as a competitive element and focus more on integrating with a company and becoming a partner with the client, so that temp workers are customized as a mix for what will best benefit the purchaser.

Is it possible that a large group of temporary workers would solve the increasing problem of joblessness in the U.S.? Claims of joblessness stood at 348,000 in the week ending Feb. 22, according to a survey by Bloomberg.

Some are blaming it on the cold weather and the winter storms. Millan Mulraine, deputy head of U.S. research and strategy at TD Securities USA LLC in New York, said, "There have been some weather-related setbacks in hiring, but as it warms up, you're going to see much better performance in labor market activity."

Business is changing, according to Sheahan. There is the possibility that some of the unemployed workers might find a job in the field of contract labor.

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