Welcome to the weekly news roundup! Below are the top stories we’ve read or shared this week affecting our industry.

Monday: New Elance study shows that millenials in particular are turning to freelance work. Check out the article for the numbers as well as the top five job titles that are experiencing growth. (CNBC Small Business)

Wednesday: Australia’s talent shortage and an increasingly mobile workforce make contingent labor a viable source of work for the country’s organizations. (The Conversation)

Thursday: Robert Half released its 2013 salary guides. No surprise that IT topped the list, but admin/office positions are next, with a 3.5% increase. (PRNewswire)

Thursday: Are you a mobile app developer based in Dallas looking for a temporary work? The good news is that your profession is the highest paid, but you have the most competition. Check out more from KForce’s new survey. (Mashable)

Today: The BLS report is out, and the jobless rate is the lowest in 44 months at just under 8%. BusinessWeek examines what insiders are saying in today’s heated political climate. (BusinessWeek)

Did we miss anything? Let us know in comments. Have a great weekend, everyone!

(This post was originally published on The Staffing Stream on Aug. 15th.)

We know, we’re jumping on the superhero bandwagon here. But there’s no denying the comparison. Highly-skilled contingent labor, independent contractors and others that make up the flexible workforce are able to swoop in and provide immediate value to companies of all sizes and industries. Let’s take a look at how they’re being utilized and managed today here in the U.S. and beyond.

To find out more about the penetration of the flexible workforce and how VMS and MSP providers stack up, download a free copy, compliments of Fieldglass, of Staffing Industry Analysts’ 2012 VMS/MSP Supplier Landscape Report.

The flexible workforce is growing at a rapid clip, and is expected to pick up the pace even more this year. One stat out of dozens: Harris Interactive says almost 40% of companies will some form of temporary staffing this year. There’s a myriad of reasons why – labor shortages, retiring experienced workers and a post-Recession need for flexibility have all played a role in companies’ reliance on contingent labor, service providers and independent contractors. What’s lesser known is how this new workforce approach is translating to other parts of the world.

I came across this article on Recruiter.com last week, and it helps to shed some light on how other regions and countries view, treat and regulate the flexible workforce. Using our experience with more than 150 global customers, we see a lot of the same trends that the article points out. That said, I do think the article missed a few countries where temporary labor plays a significant role – Canada, Mexico, Australia and Singapore are a few that come to mind. There are some interesting variations in how contingent workers are managed within these countries (e.g. cross-border taxation in Canada), and we continue to see high market growth in these countries.

Give the article a read. Do you agree? Disagree?

Welcome to the weekly news roundup! Below are the top stories we’ve read or shared this week affecting our industry.

Monday: Ever heard of the term “gigging”? Learn all about being an independent contractor in today’s workforce. (FOX Business)

Monday: The Reserve Bank of Australia reports half of ALL new jobs in the country could be in mining. (Australian Mining)

Wednesday: We unveiled our new website! Introducing the brand new www.fieldglass.com!

Wednesday: Jai Shekhawat has again been named a finalist for “Entrepreneur of the Year” and “Executive of the Year”. Read our full announcement. (Fieldglass.com)

Thursday: The WSJ introduced AtWork, a new blog covering life on the job – from getting ahead to finding passion & purpose in the office. (Wall Street Journal)

For those of you who are curious about the panels, presentations and sessions from this week’s CWS Summit in London, search #cws12 on Twitter. You can also check out our blog post.

Did we miss anything? Let us know in comments. Have a great weekend everyone.

Welcome to the weekly news roundup! Below are the top stories we’ve read or shared this week affecting our industry.

Monday: Australia’s labor shortage is causing companies to fill mining positions quickly. (Australian Mining)

Monday: This new contributed article offers a good look at how to get started on a VMS, and the benefits for doing so. (Smart Business)

Monday: The UK contingent staffing market is heating up, due in part to the upcoming Summer Olympics. (SIA Daily News)

Wednesday: Proud to see many of our staffing partners on the list! Check out this year’s MSP “Baker’s Dozen”. (HRO Today)

Thursday: The 10 most stressful jobs are counted down… is yours on the list? (Business Insider)

Today: Are 86 million people “invisibly unemployed”? (CNN Money)

Did we miss anything? Let us know in comments. Have a great weekend everyone.

Welcome to the weekly news roundup! Below are the top stories we’ve read or shared this week affecting our industry. First, let’s start with a couple we missed from over the weekend…

Monday: Another warning from the IRS to properly managing independent contractors. (Staffing Talk)

Tuesday: “Supertemps” are growing in number and changing the way business works. (Harvard Business Review)

Thursday: Historically most generations have had more education than parents. This video says that’s changing. (Wall Street Journal)

Today: Social media is changing the way recruiters work. UK recruiters lead the pack, posting more jobs on LinkedIn and Twitter than their peers in the US, Australia or Canada. (SIA Daily News)

Did we miss anything? Let us know in comments. Have a great weekend everyone.

Welcome to the weekly news roundup! Below are the top stories we’ve read or shared this week affecting our industry.

Monday: Are the time a-changin’ for the staffing industry? Buyers are now paying more for contingent labor, says Subadhra Sriram. (SIA Blogs)

Tuesday: Another executive backs the theory that increasing temporary labor signals a hiring rebound. (News Press)

Thursday: Well, we have to brag a little… our CEO was named a finalist in the ITA CityLIGHTS awards! (Fieldglass)

Thursday: Software engineers are best gigs in 2012. Where does your job fall on the list? (Careercast)

Thursday: Is Your Company At Risk? Fieldglass’ AU Company Director Toni Jackson discusses the new harmonized OHS legislation on our blog. (From the Field)

Today: Stamford, Conn. is the most unfair city to be a working woman. Forbes examines gender pay gaps. (Forbes)

Did we miss anything? Let us know in comments. Have a great weekend everyone.

Today’s guest post is by Toni Jackson, Fieldglass company director.

According to an article last month in Shortlist, recruiters in Australia are still struggling to meet the requirements of the new Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WH&S Act) and Regulations, which went into effect at the start of 2012. Essentially on-hire companies need to provide evidence of OHS planning, meaning they must have documentation of measures in place to ensure the health and safety of all workers, including contractors.

“This means that before placing a contractor in a role, the on-hire firm must engage with the client… to map out a process for managing work health and safety to achieve the desired outcomes – including how they will communicate with each other and manage risk cooperatively…It’s this documented evidence that is letting organisations down and is most likely to be audited by regulators,” said Amy Towers, work safety managing consultant at law firm FCB.

The consequences are astounding, with maximum fines of up to $600,000 for individuals and $1.5 million for companies under the new law.

Fieldglass helps companies meet these requirements several ways. During the onboarding process, companies can set various tasks related to specific OHS requirements, for example, for completed training courses, etc. In addition, Fieldglass’ supplier qualification solution can also be used to track all agreed upon methodology for ensuring compliance to the new OHS legislation.

To learn more, please feel free to reach out to me at tjackson@fieldglass.com.

Welcome to the weekly news roundup! Below are the top stories we’ve read or shared this week affecting our industry.

Monday: It’s March Madness! Help Workforce Management magazine celebrate its 90th anniversary by participating in its Workforce Impact or Workforce Pop Culture bracket! (Workforce Management)

Monday: Have you taken Aberdeen’s survey on contingent workforce management yet? The firm is offering a free copy of the finished report for doing so. Go now. (Aberdeen Research)

Tuesday: Making the case for temp-to-perm conversion, 300,000 German temporary workers were converted to permanent employees in 2011. (SIA Daily News)

Wednesday: While it was published a few weeks ago, on Wednesday we came across this infographic on the independent workforce. Lots of impressive stats are included, and it’s safe to say the trend towards a flexible workforce is only rising. (Visual.ly)

Wednesday: Some advice on managing contingent workers in Israel, South Africa or Russia. (CWS 3.0)

Thursday: The news came out quite a bit ago, but did you know that Fieldglass customer Rio Tinto is supplying the gold, silver and copper that will go into 4,700 Olympic and Paralympic medals? (Rio Tinto)

Thursday: Volkswagen is planning to fill some 800 job openings at its manufacturing plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., with contingent labor. (SIA Daily News)

Today: Who would have thought? One in five workers in Peoria, Ill., are temporary. (Staffing Industry Analysts)

Did we miss anything? Let us know in comments. Have a great weekend everyone.

Welcome to the weekly news roundup! Below are the top stories we’ve read or shared this week affecting our industry.

Monday: Expectations for strong job growth. Latest NABE Outlook survey reports an average of 170,000 new jobs in 2012. (SIA Daily News)

Tuesday: The Washington Post reported that more than a quarter of new jobs post-recession have been contingent positions. Though, private estimates have claimed that 91% of total nonfarm job growth from June 2009 through June 2011 came from the temporary staffing industry. (Emergent)

Tuesday: All about managing Generation Y. Learn about this unique group of workers. (FINS)

Wednesday: It’s official… our very own CEO Jai Shekhawat will receive the 2012 Peter Yessne Staffing Innovator Award! We couldn’t be prouder. (SIA Daily News)

Thursday: The Australian temporary labor is heating up – contingent positions are growing faster than permanent jobs. Factors include economic uncertainty and skills shortages in key employment areas. (Adecco)

Did we miss anything? Let us know in comments. Have a great weekend everyone.