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7th May 2021

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THE HOT STORY

Employers get creative in search for AI talent

Companies are becoming more creative in their recruitment efforts amid growing demand for artificial-intelligence talent. Peter Krensky, director, analyst on Gartner’s business analytics and data science team, says any company can be outbid for top talent in the field, and “You’ve got to be creative about finding people that care about more than just money.” With this in mind, employers are sponsoring AI award programs, holding ‘datathons,’ and scouting software development contests. Ajai Sehgal, Mayo Clinic's chief data and analytics officer, says those data scientists who now graduating from college want more than just a job - “They want a job with meaning.”

Wall Street Journal

REMOTE WORKING

New York tax officials crack down on remote workers

Refund claims filed by nonresident tax filers who usually commute to jobs in New York but have been working remotely during the pandemic are being scrutinized by New York state tax officials. The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance has started auditing 2020 returns for workers whose employment habits changed when their offices closed, according to tax lawyers. Auditors have recently received refresher training about out-of-state filers, said one person familiar with the matter. Darren Dopp, a spokesman for the department, said returns were being reviewed according to longstanding practice and law. “In this regard, taxpayers who work for a New York employer and allocate income to an out-of-state location should be prepared to explain and substantiate how their employer established a bona fide employer office at the out-of-state location,” Mr. Dopp said.

Wall Street Journal

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

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WORKFORCE

U.S. unemployment claims reach new pandemic low

Worker filings for unemployment benefits in the U.S. reached a new low since the COVID-19 pandemic began more than a year ago, the latest sign that the labor-market rebound is gathering force. The Labor Department said jobless claims fell 92,000 last week to 498,000, taking the four-week average of initial claims, which smooths out volatility in weekly data, to the lowest point since the pandemic took hold, though still well above pre-pandemic levels. About 16.2 million workers were receiving benefits in the week ended April 17th through one of several programs, including regular state aid and federal emergency programs put in place in response to the pandemic. “Jobless claims are still very high, but they are finally beginning to drop to more normal levels,” said chief economist Stephen Stanley of Amherst Pierpont Securities. Separate data Thursday showed productivity rebounded in the first quarter as the pace of output exceeded a pickup in hours worked. Nonfarm business labor productivity increased at a 5.4% annualized rate in the first quarter, the second fastest pace since 2009, after a revised 3.8% decline in the prior quarter.

Drug firm hit by staff accusations

Workers at drugmaker Eli Lilly say an executive altered documents required by government regulators in a bid to downplay quality control issues at the Branchburg, New Jersey, factory producing the firm’s COVID-19 treatment, according to an unsigned report in Lilly’s confidential employee complaint system and a source familiar with the matter. Reuters has previously reported that a human resources officer at the same plant said she was forced out of her job after raising concerns about quality control, record-keeping and staff shortages.

Reuters

Get ready for the new perk culture

The FT considers the coming post-pandemic perk culture, centered on concerns around health, financial stability and flexibility, and transforming how “benefits” are defined and precipitating an overhaul of corporate practices.

Financial Times

STRATEGY

JCPenney cuts 1.5% of total workforce

JCPenney has cut 650 jobs in stores, field operations, and corporate, totalling about 1.5% of its total workforce. Penney filed for bankruptcy a year ago and exited Chapter 11 in December, when the operating company was sold to its two largest landlords, Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management.

Dallas Morning News

Forbes

TECHNOLOGY

Software group Gilded launches crypto payroll platform

Crypto accounting software maker Gilded has released Mass Pay, a platform for businesses to pay up to 500 employees at once with Ethereum-based cryptocurrency tokens. It is designed to facilitate one cryptocurrency transaction which saves both time and gas fees when on the Ethereum blockchain. The platform allows businesses to accept payment in crypto, pay employees and contractors in crypto, account for crypto payments, and support a range of cryptocurrency wallet choices as payee preference. A crypto payroll can benefit both employees and employers, allowing for more freedom over funds, fast global payments, and the removal of traditional banks who intermediate and delay payments.

Accounting Today

CORPORATE

OECD says high chance of deal on cross-border tax reform

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)'s head of tax has said that a global deal on how multinational companies are taxed could be outlined by July and finalized by October. Pascal Saint-Amans told the French Senate's finance committee: "The chances of success have in my opinion never been higher because there is a real desire on all sides to wrap up this matter." He went on to say: “Will [U.S. President Joe] Biden get to 21%, or will it be a bit lower? We'll see . . . As for the rest of the world, I doubt we'll be at 21%, but would we be at a rate nearing 21%? I have good hope that is possible.”

Bloomberg

Reuters

HIRING

Small business job hiring on the rise in April

The Paychex | IHS Markit Small Business Employment Watch, compiled from aggregated payroll data of approximately 350,000 clients on the Paychex human capital management (HCM) suite, is out with the latest numbers. The Small Business Jobs Index increased 4.33% from March to 98.34 in April, a positive indicator of job growth returning to pre-pandemic levels. Job growth improved in all four U.S. regions in March, as well as in all 20 states, and all 20 metros analyzed, with the South leading all regions in small business job growth. Leisure and hospitality saw the greatest improvement among industry sectors, but construction still has the highest index at 100.72. Leisure and hospitality and construction both also saw a significant gain in hourly earnings growth, 6.78% and 4.00%, respectively.

CPA Practice Advisor

KFC to hire 20,000 workers across U.S.

KFC is looking to hire 20,000 workers, as restaurant industry players compete to find enough labor to meet returning demand. Roles include cooks, restaurant management, customer service, shift supervisors and assistant managers. Fast-food chains typically hire tens of thousands of workers in time for the summer months, which are among the busiest for the sector. This year, the hiring announcements arrive as restaurants report a shortage of willing workers. The labor crunch is also being felt further up the supply chain, putting pressure on suppliers of ingredients such as chicken.

CNBC

Market Watch

INTERNATIONAL

Remote working can transform disabled people’s job prospects

A report from PwC Middle East urges organisations in the region to capitalise on the growing popularity of remote working, and transform the employment prospects of people with disabilities. The firm’s Remote-Ability report identifies barriers to the effective participation of disabled people and offers suggestions to support their inclusion in the local labour market. The most recent data indicate that the share of people with disabilities across GCC countries ranges from 4.37% of the population in Saudi Arabia to between 1% and 3% of the population in other member states. Randa Bahsoun, Partner at PwC Middle East, said: “Data drives every forward-thinking diversity strategy. We need to understand where we are as a region before taking the next steps. GCC countries are well placed to leverage technology in order to transform their labour market while increasing access for [people with disabilities] and acting as models of best practice for other governments. For this approach to be successful, GCC leaders, policymakers, educators and stakeholders from the public, private and non-profit sectors should collaborate to institutionalise an inclusive ecosystem for people with disabilities, where they can be active and productive whilst ensuring their voices are heard along the way.”

The Peninsula

Commerzbank job cut deal expected to be signed today

A deal with labour representatives that is expected to be signed today will pave the way for Commerzbank to cut 10,000 jobs globally, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The agreement, which is key to CEO Manfred Knof’s plan to streamline Germany’s second-biggest listed lender and return it to profitability, includes early retirement and reduced hours for older employees, and also details on severance packages and retraining programs for employees.

Reuters

New labor laws in Spain to boost jobs

Spain is to enact new labor laws by early next year to boost the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs while the nation’s economy recovers from the pandemic. “Our goal is to have a new labor market framework by the beginning of 2022 that helps to ensure strong growth in quality jobs, with greater productivity and better salaries,” Economy Minister Nadia Calvino said, adding that the proposed reforms aim to simplify the number of contracts and modernize the country's framework for collective bargaining.

Bloomberg

OTHER

U.S. births drop to 32-year low

The number of babies born in America last year was the lowest since 1979, according to federal figures released Wednesday that show a continuing U.S. fertility slump. The figure dropped 4% from 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistic. Total fertility rates and general fertility rates also declined by 4% since 2019, reaching record lows. The U.S. birth rate is so low, the nation is “below replacement levels,” meaning more people die every day than are being born, the CDC said. Combined with a substantial leveling-off of immigration, and rising deaths, the country’s population over the past decade expanded at the second-slowest rate since the government started counting in the 18th century. The pandemic, which pushed the death rate higher and the birthrate even lower, appears to have deepened that trend.

CNBC

New York Times

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