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Forget the robots. The outlook for manual labor in the DC hasn’t been this bright in years, says staffing expert Brian Devine. Brian Devine launched ProLogistix, a leading provider of logistics talent in the U.S. It’s unfortunate the rest of the U.S. economy isn’t firing on all cylinders the way the industrial property sector is. Demand is strong, space can’t come online fast enough, and, after more than a decade of lean times, DC workers are finally seeing more money for their efforts. These also make for good times for Brian Devine. A 20-year staffing veteran and senior vice president of Atlanta-based EmployBridge, Devine in 1999 launched ProLogistix, a division of EmployBridge dedicated to specialized warehouse and distribution center staffing. ProLogistix has since become a leading provider of logistics talent in the U.S. Devine recently spoke with Mark B. Solomon, executive editor-news, to discuss the outlook for labor and how managers will need to balance the realities of higher pay and margin pressure. Q: How are the supply-demand scales balancing for peak season? A: Based on what we’ve seen over the past three years, we expect the demand for hourly labor to increase by about 28 percent over the headcount needs of the third quarter. This large increase will be on top of the already-tight labor market we are now experiencing, so recruiting for this peak season will be even more challenging than it was in the last few years. The good news for associates is that over half of the positions created during the peak season of 2015 turned into full-time positions. That compares with just 10 percent of the positions converting to full time in 2013 and 2014. The current labor market will require companies to pay peak season premiums of $1.50 to $3 per hour to […]