New Jersey Staffing Alliance » New Jersey Job Market

New Jersey Partnership for Action

njsa — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 15:41:29 +0000

Governor Christie has outlined a detailed plan for economic development in New Jersey.The New Jersey Partnership for Action will be overseen by Lt. Governor Guadagno and will serve as the starting point for all initiatives, policies and efforts related to growing New Jersey’s economy and creating quality, sustainable jobs. Specifics of the Partnership include:

· Attracting New Businesses and Helping Existing Businesses Thrive

· Promoting New Jersey as a Place for Businesses to Choose

· Developing Policy Initiatives that Capitalize on New Jersey’s Strengths

· Putting Customer Service First

· Utilizing Innovation and Technology

The plan will be overseen by a privately-funded, not-for-profit corporation entitled, Choose New Jersey, to be led by a CEO who will both promote New Jersey to existing and new businesses as well as make recommendations directly to the Governor and Lt. Governor that will spur economic growth, job creation and innovation.

New Jersey State Budget News

njsa — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:13:06 +0000

The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) projects that fiscal 2010 and fiscal 2011 revenues will be $249.4 million less than the estimates in the Governor’s proposed fiscal 2011 budget. For fiscal 2010, the OLS revenues are $81.7 million below the Governor’s estimates, and OLS’s fiscal 2011 estimates are $167.7 million below the Governor’s projections. These differences are relatively minor, representing less than 1 percent of the budget.

The biggest reason for the lower estimate is the underperformance of the sales tax. For fiscal years 2010 and 2011, OLS projects $313 million less than the Governor’s estimates.

For the income tax, OLS anticipates $124 million more than the Governor’s estimate for fiscal 2010 and 2011.

For the Corporate Business Tax, while OLS’ estimate for fiscal 2010 is $44 million below the Governor’s estimate, OLS’ fiscal 2011 estimate is $55 million above that of the Governor.

The Senate and Assembly Budget Committees will begin hearings next week on the impact of the proposed budget on state departments.

Obama New HIRE Act

njsa — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 14:30:59 +0000

The new HIRE Act signed by President Obama this month provides a temporary payroll tax exemption to companies, including staffing firms that hire previously unemployed workers. The law requires employees to sign an affidavit certifying that they had not been employed for more than 40 hours total in the 60-day period immediately prior to beginning employment. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service has indicated it will issue a form that employers can provide for employees to sign.

Healthcare Reform Bill to be Signed on Tuesday

njsa — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 14:24:40 +0000

President Obama will sign the Health Care Reform Reconciliation Bill on Tuesday, March 30. The U.S. House of Representatives voted on March 25 to approve a “reconciliation” bill containing major amendments to the Senate-passed health care reform bill that was signed by President Obama last week. The Senate approved the bill earlier that day but made minor changes that required that it be sent back to the House for a final vote.
Among other things, the reconciliation bill dramatically increases the excise taxes that will be imposed on large employers (those with more than 50 full-time employees) that do not offer a qualified health insurance plan to their employees and dependents-from an annual maximum of $750 to $2,000 per full-time employee if the employer has even one employee who receives a government tax credit.

The employer excise tax does not become effective until Jan. 1, 2014, which gives employers time to assess their options and plan strategies.

Hearing on State Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund

njsa — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:05:46 +0000

The Senate Labor Committee will hold a public hearing on Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 10:00 AM in Committee Room 6, 1st Floor, State House Annex, Trenton, NJ. The Committee will hear testimony from the public about the fiscal condition of the State Unemployment Insurance (UI) Trust Fund and related UI tax issues, the effectiveness of the UI program in mitigating hardships from layoffs, and the scope and future prospects of federal programs for the unemployed, including UI benefit extensions and supplements and health insurance premium assistance. Those individuals presenting written testimony are asked to provide 15 copies on the date of the hearing.

The public may address comments and questions to Gregory L. Williams, Committee Aide, or make bill status and scheduling inquiries to Cynthia D. Petty, Secretary, at 609-984-0445, fax 609-777-2998, or e-mail: OLSAideSLA@njleg.org. Written and electronic comments, questions and testimony submitted to the committee by the public, as well as recordings and transcripts, if any, of oral testimony, are government records and will be available to the public upon request.

Unemployment Tax Fight in New Jersey Legislature

njsa — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:00:48 +0000

Senator Fred Madden and Assemblyman Joseph Egan, chairmen of the Senate and Assembly labor committees respectively, said they are committed to seeking a compromise that would protect the state’s jobless from seeing any cut to their current unemployment benefits while also insulating businesses from a scheduled increase in their unemployment insurance taxes.

Madden and Egan said such an agreement is necessary after they received notice from the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services that a proposed cut in state benefits would negate a 2009 agreement with the federal government and would lead to an immediate loss of $25-per-week in federal funds to all current and future beneficiaries.

Under a 2009 Federal Additional Compensation (FAC) agreement between the state and the federal Department of Labor, each New Jersey resident collecting unemployment receives a $25-per-week federal benefit. Reducing unemployment benefits for future beneficiaries, however, would also immediately void the agreement, leading to a loss in funds to the currently unemployed.

Governor Christie has called for reducing the maximum unemployment check to $550 a week, from $600 which would mean a $300 million tax increase on businesses instead of the $1 billion hike set by current law. The Democrats’ plan would keep benefits at the current level. However, the state could continue to go further into debt to pay for promised benefits.

NJ businesses’ unemployment tax rates are set by law based on the amount of money in the unemployment fund. After years of raids and the recession’s soaring job losses, the fund is scheduled to move to the highest tax rate allowed at the end of June. That would mean employers would pay an extra $1 billion, or $400 more per employee, on average, in the next fiscal year. Christie’s plan would limit the tax hike to $300 million, or $130 more per employee.

NJSA members are encouraged to contact their state representatives to voice their concerns about increasing the unemployment tax in the face of companies striving to add workers and jobs.

Jobs Bill and New Hire Credit Passed by House

njsa — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:20:03 +0000

The House of Representatives passed the legislation on March 4.

The jobs bill contains two major provisions. First, it would exempt businesses hiring the unemployed from the 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax through December and give them an additional $1,000 credit if new workers stay on the job a full year. The Social Security trust fund would be reimbursed for the lost revenue.

Second, it would extend highway and mass transit programs through the end of the year and pump in $20 billion in time for the spring construction season. The money would make up for lower-than-expected gasoline tax revenues.

Despite doubts among many lawmakers that it will create many jobs, the House passed legislation giving companies that hire the jobless a temporary payroll tax break. The measure passed 217-201 on a mostly party-line vote. The bill also extends federal highway programs through the end of the year.

Christie Warns of Tax Hike for Unemployment Fund

njsa — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:06:11 +0000

Last week Governor Christie warned New Jersey businesses that they can expect an increase of up to $1,000 per employee in their unemployment tax starting July 1 unless the federal government helps the state replenish the fund. Business taxes are increased by law when the fund’s balance dips below a certain level as measured every March. Christie says the fund will be $1.6 billion in debt by March.

The Governor said his administration will ask the federal government to forgive the debt, but he said the state can’t afford to pump money into the fund to stop the tax increase. New Jersey faces a deficit of more than $9 billion for the 2011 budget year, which begins in July. Christie said that over $3.6 billion has been raided from the fund over the past decade.

New Jersey Staffing Survey Results Reflect Changing Market

njsa — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:22:04 +0000

The New Jersey Staffing Alliance, as a service to its members and the NJ staffing industry, solicited responses to a survey in order to gain insight on recent market conditions that the industry has faced this year, and the near-term prospects of improvement as the economy begins to strengthen. The information has been compiled on an anonymous basis. Please click here for your copy of this survey.

Significant results of the survey included:

The staffing segments that have had the greatest downward price pressures over the past 12 months are: Direct Hire, Temporary Staffing – Light Industrial, and Temporary Staffing – IT.
The staffing segments with the highest percentage believing that business will improve by October 1, 2009 were: Temporary Staffing – Clerical/Admin and Temporary Staffing – Light Industrial.
When asked to forecast when pricing would begin to improve, a majority of most segments believed strengthening would happen by early 2010… some segments by January 1, 2010 and others by April 1, 2010.

Detailed staffing segment analysis are in the Survey Report Summary.

If you’d like NJSA to survey other subjects concerning New Jersey’s staffing industry, please send your suggestions to patk@njsa.com. Remember that NJSA does have to comply with legal guidelines regarding what it can and cannot survey.

When Will New Jersey Employers Start Hiring?

njsa — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:48:20 +0000

According to a quarterly report conducted by CareerBuilder.com, as the U.S. economy shows early signs of stabilization and employers grow more willing to have conversations about their hiring needs, staffing firms are expected to see an uptick in demand in key functional areas in the third quarter. The report tracks current and projected use of staffing firms by employers and job candidates, is pointing to more activity in healthcare, technical and contract hiring for staffing firms. The study included over 5,200 hiring managers and over 9,000 workers.

“As the U.S. works toward a healthier financial picture, the outlook for the staffing industry is holding steady overall with encouraging movement in some areas,” said Todd McCormick, president of the Recruiter Business Unit and Canadian operations at CareerBuilder. “While remaining cautious in their hiring pace, employers are more optimistic about their use of staffing firms in the fall as they seek out talent to fill interim and long-term positions.”