Small-business owners say they feel the most optimistic since July 2008, according to the latest findings from the Wells Fargo and Gallup Small-Business Index.

The U.S. Department of Labor is awarding a $3,058,366 National Emergency Grant increment for ongoing re-employment services to approximately 1,450 Texas workers impacted by the realignments and closures of military facilities.

ManpowerGroup, a provider of work force solutions, maintains that employers should offer flexible work models that include a range of full-time, contingent and virtual skilled workers in order to drive productivity in a volatile economy.

According to the Randstad Employee Confidence Index, worker confidence hit 52.4 percent in January, a jump from 47.4 percent in December, marking the biggest climb of the surveys history.

According to the January CBIZ Small Business Employment Index, which analyzes hiring trends among companies with 300 or fewer employees, declined by 2.75 percent in January after a 1.75 percent growth in December.

The median base salary increases are projected to hit 3 percent this year, according to recent research by the Hay Group, a global consulting firm.

As health care reform provisions are coming down, human resources and finance departments are practicing an increasingly shared role when it comes to benefits, rewards and compensations, says Randall Abbott, senior health and group benefits consultant at Towers Watson, a global professional services company in New York City.

Although more employers are projected to hire rather than lay off workers in February, the numbers are still expected to be behind from 2011, according to a report from the Society for Human Resource Management.