According to Staffing Industry Analysts, the number of jobs advertised online has declined some, down 3% from October, but still up over 16% from this time last year. Job postings have also declined in come cases from employer exhaustion over being unable to fill openings. There is still a high sentiment that they would hire more people – it they could fine qualified staff. For the SIA article Click Here.

Car Rental company Hertz is fined $16 Million for accounting errors that resulted in material misstatements on their fiancials. This is essentially a $695,000 per month surcharge. That’s a lot of car rentals… Torrey & Gray can help your organization find people that can avoid these situations. For the full article, click here. https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/sec-penalizes-hertz-16m-for-accounting-violationsh

The FED recently polled 51 senior bank officers, whose assets represent 2/3 of all reserve deposits in the US.   When asked, they said they would prefer to have the option to keep only half of their current reserve requirements – which in August stood at about $1.2 Trillion.  Some suggested they would be willing to go as low as 25% of current reserve requirements. What amount of economic activity could be generated if $600 billion were freed up to make capital investments or other allocations into the markets?  Would it really benefit the economy or primarily the banks themselves? For…

The Institute for Supply Management issued their monthly report today outlining expansion in the U.S. manufacturing sector for November.   The ISM covers 18 manufacturing sectors – 13 of which grew in November.  For the full article click here.  Employment indicators report the 26th consecutive month of growth.  Survey respondents report labor related issues (mainly labor supply shortages) as a key constraint to production capability. Raw Materials prices increased for the 33rd consecutive month, but the rate of price growth has slowed for the first time on over a year. Torrey & Gray provides temporary staffing and permanent recruiting for accounting…

In yet another blow to common sense, Illinois legislature overrode Gov. Rauner’s veto 44-1 to enact a pension code change to benefit one current Chicago Alderman.  For the story from illinoispolicy.org click here.

Although quarterly GDP slowed slightly from Q2, it is still on pace to hit 3% annualized growth for the year.  Also, GM announced job cuts – it remains to be seen how the market will react to that news.  Overall hiring is still strong. For the full Reuters Article, Click Here.  CAPEX is down, along with oil prices. Torrey & Gray places accounting and finance professionals that drive your company’s goals forward. Contact us if you need permanent employees or temporary staff. We place CFO’s, Controllers, Treasury Professionals, Accounting Managers, Finance Leaders, etc. Based in Hoffman Estates, IL, we serve…

In a letter released November 19th, a trio of Fed economists declared the US Economy to be at full employment.  Diving into the reasons – they find education to play a significant factor in workforce participation duration.  In other words- the higher the level of education attained, the longer people tend to work.  The largest factor is age.  As the US population continues to age and the Baby Boomers eventually retire, the workforce participation number will decline.  That factor cannot be mitigated.  So what should we do to ensure we have enough skilled workers?  We argue that anyone who attains…

Trump nominee Michelle “Miki” Bowman gets approved to the Federal Reserve Bank Board of Governors.  Her background is from smaller banks and she is expected to represent the voice of community banks who have been struggling to comply with myriad rules imposed under Dodd-Frank.  For the full article Click Here. This development could trigger increased positive sentiment within the banking sector, who have been holding their collective breath hoping for regulatory relief since the 2016 elections. Torrey & Gray is a recruiting and temporary staffing firm specializing in accounting and finance positions.  We serve banks and other financial institutions of…

As reflected in today’s Wall Street Journal article, recent unemployment claims rose slightly in the latest period.  However, unemployment is still at a 49 year low.  For accounting and finance positions, unemployment is historically around half the general unemployment number, which currently sits at 3.7%.  In Chicago and San Francisco, demand still exceeds supply for qualified candidates.  We see increased movement in manufacturing and financial services, along with a slight increase in demand in the nonprofit sector.  For the full WSJ article, click here. Health Insurance costs continue to suppress small business growth.  As we enter into what for many…