Bob Funk: Where the Jobs Are—and How to Get One (From the man who matches companies with workers)

Wall Street Journal ^ | 09/21/2013 | Stephen Moore

[SeekAndFind]

Here's something you don't often see in Washington: a businessman trying to repeal a law that helps his company. That's Bob Funk's latest mission in life. He's the president and founder of Express Employment Services, the fifth-largest employment agency in America, with annual sales of $2.5 billion and more than 600 franchises across the country. This year he will place nearly half a million workers in jobs.

"ObamaCare has been an absolute boon for my business," he says as we sit in his new office headquarters near downtown Oklahoma City. "I'm making a lot of money thanks to that law. We're up 8% this year. But it's just terrible for the country. I see that firsthand every day."

Why is the health-care law good for Express but bad for the country? "Firms are just very reluctant to hire full-time workers," Mr. Funk says. "So they are taking on more temporary help, which is what we do." ObamaCare imposes new mandates and penalties on companies with more than 50 full-time employees—and even those working 30 hours a week are considered full-time.

He quickly adds: "The problem isn't just ObamaCare, though. It's the entire regulatory assault on employers coming out of Washington—everything from the EEOC"—the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission hits companies hard when employees claim age, race or sex discrimination—"to the Dodd-Frank monstrosity. Employers are living in a state of fear."

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“Employers are living in a state of fear.”

We sure are, Bub!

[Jeff Chandler]

One solution to the government regulation blues: freelancer.com

[Texas Fossil]

I spent 7 years in the same town in OK that Bob Funk lives in.

He is just like the interview says. And he is a kind generous person.

His assessment is spot on.

[Beagle8U]

” The temporary-employment business is booming now because in the fragile economy and, with ObamaCare on the way, companies are skittish about bringing on permanent hires. Some businesses, to remain below the 50-employee level, hire all their additional workers beyond No. 49 through Express.”

If he has thousands of employees wouldn’t he have to offer them insurance? If the temp employee scam is a way around Owebamacare my guess is it won’t be for long.

Owebama will just do a phony ‘executive action’ and deem them covered. John Bohener will roll over on his back and pi$$ on himself.

[re_nortex]

Here's a highlight from the article:

Express is also a good indicator of where the U.S. economy is growing and where it's still struggling. The top job growth is in cities like Nashville, Dallas, Austin, Oklahoma City and Indianapolis—cities without forced union rules, and with a pro-growth regulatory and tax climate. He says Michigan and Wisconsin are two states in the upper Midwest that have "really improved their business climate." The slowest state is still California: "They just raised their minimum wage again—it's just a killer for new jobs."

[melissa_in_ga]

Wow! A blast from my past. I worked for Bob Funk in the Express Services home office in Oklahoma City in the late ‘80’s. He’s a lovely man!

[1010RD]

The primary jobs problem today, Mr. Funk says, is that too many workers are functionally unemployable because of attitude, behavior or lack of the most basic work skills. One discouraging statistic is that only about one of six workers who comes to Express seeking employment makes the cut. He recites a company statistic that about one in four applicants can't even pass a drug test.

That's says it all.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Plenty of jobs in this area:

http://www.indeed.com/jobs?l=76208&rq=1&fromage=last

http://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=&l=76004&rs=1&fromage=last

http://dallas.craigslist.org/jjj/