US News

Pay rises as more jobs become available

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pay rises

Pay rises as more jobs become available

Rising employment in the past few years has signaled the return of a stronger economy, but until recently, one other factor, Pay, has lagged behind. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed recently that employee compensation grew between April and June. Over the three-month period, the employment-cost index rose 0.9 percent.

Economists expected the index to grow just 0.5 percent, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Journal said that rising compensation may be a sign of a healthier job market causing employers to try to retain workers with higher wages. Although the nation’s unemployment rate remained high, jobs have been created at a faster pace recently, which may explain the higher demand for workers.

More growth was seen in benefits than in actual wages. While pay rose 0.6 percent in the quarter, benefits expanded 1.0 percent. Still, the growth of salaries and wages was the largest since 2008’s third quarter. However, when viewed annually, pay has not yet caught up with its prerecession growth rate. Before 2008, compensation generally rose 3 to 4 percent each year, compared to the current rate of 2 percent each year.

Chemical, Contract Staffing, Engineering, Food & Beverage, Heavy Equipment, Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Metals and Minerals, Mining, Plastics, Quality Assurance, US News

Manufacturing Sector in the US Continued Expanding in July

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US Manufacturing grew again in July for the 14th consecutive month.  According to a report issued by the Institute for Supply Management the July PMI registered 57.1%, which is an increase of 1.8% from June’s reading of 55.3%. The new order index registered 63.4%, which was a 4.5% increase of over June.  All this growth has created more jobs and the need for companies to acquire additional talent to meet the needs of their customers as product demand increases.  More jobs becoming available is also driving up salaries for technical roles due to market competition and shortages in certain specialty skills and has created a challenge for companies to acquire new talent while retaining their existing workforce.

Chemical, Engineering, Manufacturing, Placement Annoucements, Plastics, Textiles & Apparel

Zach Price & TRG Chemical Technologies Complete Successful Applications Manager Search

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(Richmond, VA) July 31, 2014 – The Richmond Group USA is pleased to announce the successful completion of a search for a Technical Applications Manager in Virginia. Our client is a world leader in plastic technologies for several commercial markets (pharmaceuticals, food & beverage, packaging). Our client continues to make significant capital investments to their operations worldwide. The added technical resource will allow our client a greater opportunity to drive product innovation and product quality with its customers, while adding bench strength for future company leadership. 

Zach Price and his team worked closely with the client to understand what the person was expected to accomplish in the role and the skills and characteristics that would make someone successful in the role.  We were able to identify and attract an outstanding candidate with deep technical knowledge in plastic materials and polymer science, along with the business savvy and communication skills to serve customers.   

Our client counted on us for our knowledge of the marketplace, our dedication to the search process and our ability to attract top talent.  How are you attracting top talent to your firm? What areas are you anticipating growth or challenges? Where will your company be impacted by succession or attrition?

Should you desire additional information on this search or about our firm please contact Zach Price at 804-285-2071 or email Zach at zachp@richgroupusa.com 

Banking, Financial Services, Lending Services, Monthly BLS Report, US News

Revenue Is Key

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This month, I had a very insightful conversation with a commercial lending team lead in North Carolina.  When asked about the state of his business, his response was, “We are like every other community bank right now — expenses are up, loans are flat and margins are down. Non-interest bearing revenue is very important for us.”

As I’m sure you’re aware, this is a sentiment that is being expressed more and more.  Based on our national research in the community and regional banking marketplace, we are beginning to see the need for more qualified candidates in the treasury management space.  While there seems to be a large number of folks in this discipline, the number of truly knowledgeable and qualified candidates is very small.

If you haven’t done so already, this may be the perfect time to take a step back and look at your treasury management team.  You may already know who your rock-star commercial lenders are, but have you identified your rock-star treasury managers?

If the answer is no, there is no better time to talk with us about who we know in your marketplace

Expenses are up, loans are flat and margins are down.  In this environment, who is your go-to person within the bank that can help grow non-interest bearing revenue?

Jon Burkhart
Regional President, Banking Division

US News

Bill could bring outsourced jobs back to US

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Sen. Charles Schumer

Sen. Charles Schumer

Sen. Charles Schumer of New York has announced a plan that he says could bring many jobs back to the U.S. from overseas. According to the Times Union, Schumer introduced a bill that would end tax breaks for companies that outsource their operations to other countries while supplying credits to those that create jobs in the U.S. instead.

More than 13,000 jobs were moved overseas from New York between 2008 and 2011, Schumer said in an announcement this week. The news source reported that the insurance and publishing industries in New York were hit hardest by the moves.

Tax breaks for outsourcing
Current laws allow U.S. businesses that outsource jobs to claim tax credits for a portion of the expenses involved in moving them, the Evening Tribune reported.

“They actually get a tax break when they move the jobs overseas,” Schumer told reporters on a conference call. “We’re handing tax dollars back to every company that outsources jobs. If you think about it, those newly unemployed American workers are footing the bill with their tax dollars to move their own jobs overseas. That’s disgraceful.”

Bringing jobs back
Schumer’s plan calls for a modification to this law, allowing only companies that move employees within the U.S. to claim the credit. These organizations would also benefit from a new program offering additional credits. Companies could claim tax deductions worth 20 percent of the expenses of moving operations back to the country, provided that it resulted in a gain in their number of full-time employees in the U.S. Both of these goals depend on the passing of the senator’s Bring Home the Jobs Act.

According to Schumer, his bill comes in response to New York companies which have outsourced employees saying that they would bring positions back to the U.S. if such a move were financially feasible. The state has relatively low energy costs and a highly skilled workforce, which makes it attractive to many businesses, especially in heavy manufacturing.

Outsourcing nationwide
Data from Statistics Brain showed that 36 percent of chief financial officers said that their organizations were shifting jobs overseas, and a total of 2,637,239 positions were moved out of the country in 2013. Manufacturing has been the hardest hit, with more than 50 percent of firms surveyed reporting that they had outsourced employees over the year. Most – 44 percent – said that they did so to lower their operating costs.

Banking, Financial Services, Lending Services, Monthly BLS Report, US News

Strong Growth and Bankers’ Fatigue

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In the second quarter of 2014, many of our clients shared with us that their markets are going beyond the point of being overbanked, creating an atmosphere of bankers’ fatigue.  This is a term used by a frustrated Chief Lending Officer in Atlanta who noticed an unusually high number of bankers calling on the same small businesses and executives so often that many businesses stopped taking calls from bankers.  This problem, however, is not unique to Atlanta, as more and more businesses throughout the US are fielding phone calls from more and more bankers.

While this is the nature of the business, how does your bank stand out from all the other banks vying for the same business?  A bank has it’s best chance of cutting through the noise by having the right team in place to be the voice and face of the bank for the clients they are calling.

From time to time, we know it is important to reassess where your team is relative to your goals.  Does your bank have the right team in place to accurately convey the strength of your brand in the marketplace?

If your answer is uncertain, then it may be important to spend a few minutes talking with us about top-performing recruited candidates we have already identified in your area.  This is the best way to ensure that you are building the best team you can in order to cut through the noise in the marketplace and take your bank to the next level.