The hidden benefits of the gig economy

an estimated 7.6 million Americans to be regularly working as providers in this segment by 2020. Often, this segment receives negative connotations, focused on low wages, minimal worker rights,  and at-will employment. However, there’s another side to the story. Figures from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the ONS suggest that easier routes into self-employment…

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US approves social media background checks for visa applicants

according to Reuters. The new questions, part of an effort to tighten vetting of would-be visitors to the United States, was approved on May 23 by the Office of Management and Budget. The State Department said earlier the tighter vetting would apply to visa applicants “who have been determined to warrant additional scrutiny in connection…

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May 2017 employment: US adds 138,000 jobs

The Employment Situation‘ report released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate in the United States remained stable at 4.3%, while the economy added 138,000 jobs, in May. Since January, the unemployment rate has declined by 0.5 percentage point, and the number of unemployed has decreased by 774,000. This is…

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Workforce drug positivity at highest rate since 2004

The report states that urine tests among the U.S. workforce had a positive result rate of 4.2%, the highest since 2004, when 4.5% of urine tests tested positive for drugs. Colorado and Washington, which were the first two states to legalize marijuana, have outpaced the rest of the country’s average in the growing trend of…

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88% of applicants lie on their resume – often around their education

HireRight’s 2017 Annual Benchmark Report, 88% of recruiters surveyed found a lie or misrepresentation on resumes and/or job applications. Education was a popular area for applicants to deceive potential employers. John Challenger, chief executive of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago-based outplacement firm, says that not having a diploma is one of the things many applicants…

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Pennsylvania ‘bans the box’ on state employee applications

Fair-Chance hiring policy for state agencies that will remove the criminal conviction question, ‘banning the box’, from non-civil service employment applications for agencies under the governor’s jurisdiction. “We have a robust system of supervision and rehabilitative services that gives reentrants to the community all the tools they need to put their lives back on track,…

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The #1 challenge for employers in 2017? Finding talent.

The report explores key issues, trends, and underlying business drivers affecting background check programs of U.S. organizations, and compares these findings to survey results over the last decade. The benchmark survey revealed critical insights around the challenge employers are having finding the right talent. Talent acquisition and retention have become a much bigger challenge in the…

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Uber, Lyft drivers win background check appeals in Massachusetts

8,000 Uber and Lyft drivers had been banned from driving for ride-sharing apps after having their background checks re-assessed as part of a new Massachusetts law. It seems that many may be able to get their job back as 455 drivers who failed the state’s background check system recently won their appeals. In response to the original ban,…

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