Precision Blog - Recruitment and Employment News

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Judging by the recent flurry of share buyback announcements, Corporate America is increasingly confident the worst of the economic slump has passed.

After two years of belt tightening, stock buybacks are running at their highest level in two years as companies start to look for ways to deploy the record levels of cash on their balance sheets.

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The number of hours worked by private sector temporary workers increased by 35% in January, according to procurer of temporary agency labour de Poel.

And de Poel says this overall increase in temporary labour usage is in spite of bad weather caused by heavy snowfall earlier this year.

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The UK inflation rate rose to 3.5% in January – the fastest annual pace for 14 months – from 2.9% the month before, official figures have shown.

Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation was driven up by VAT returning to 17.5% and higher petrol prices.

Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation which includes housing costs, rose to 3.7% in January, up from 2.4%.

Bank of England governor Mervyn King has had to write a letter of explanation to the chancellor.

A letter from the bank’s governor is required if inflation is more than one percentage point above or below the government’s 2% target. Click to read

The number of people unemployed in the UK has fallen slightly, figures show.

Total unemployment stood at 2.46 million for the three months to December, down 3,000 on the figure for the previous three months.

The rate of unemployment was unchanged at 7.8%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

However, the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance rose by 23,500 to 1.64 million in January, the largest increase since July last year.

Analysts had expected the number of claimants to fall by about 10,000.

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The latest REC/KPMG report on jobs has shown a growth in perms, a rise in temp billings and a surge in demand for staff.

This shows a continued improvement in job market conditions from the end of 2009 into this year.

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The UK economy finally returned to growth in the fourth quarter of last year after the deepest recession since records began more than half a century ago, but at a far weaker rate than expected.

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A group on LinkedIn, Corporate Recruiters, has posed an interesting question on its discussion board: What is the most outdated interview question?

Here is a selection of the group’s ideas but we would love to get your suggestions as well.

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Leicester Tigers ran in seven tries as they secured a 47-8 bonus point victory over Heineken Cup Pool 3 rivals Viadana at Welford Road on Saturday

Tigers wrapped up the bonus point before half-time thanks to tries from Dan Hipkiss, Ben Woods, Toby Flood and Scott Hamilton (2).

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EngineeringUK’s annual report on the state of UK Engineering also reveals major obstacles to achieving this number.

In order for the UK economy to recover, the manufacturing sector will need to recruit over half a million (587, 000) engineering and manufacturing workers with state-of the-art-skills by 2017, according to a report launched today by EngineeringUK, the independent organisation that promotes the vital contribution of engineers, engineering and technology in our society. Its annual report on the state of UK Engineering also reveals major obstacles to achieving this number, including a rapidly diminishing talent pool (16% fewer school-leavers overall by 2019), a 30% fall in Further Education Lecturers in engineering and manufacturing, and a 17 % drop in the number of Higher Education students going into Production and Manufacturing Engineering degrees.

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HR is growing its influence by playing an increasingly pivotal role in the business planning and strategy of UK companies, according to a survey from the Scala Group, the ACE Network and supported by international law firm Salans.

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