Welcome to Recruiter Roundup, a monthly look at the most exciting recruiting and HR industry news. 

Recruiting Industry Investments / M&A Activity:

• Skills-based talent marketplace PitchMe raises $1.2 million in seed funding. (source)
• SAP plans to spin out Qualtrics in a new IPO, less than two years after acquiring the experience management platform. (source)
• People directory Sift raises $3 million in Series A funding. (source)
• AI-powered video assessment platform Knockri raises $2.15 million. (source)
• Payroll provider CloudPay raises $35 million in growth capital. (source)
• Employee management platform Rippling raises $145 million and reaches unicorn status with a $1.35 billion valuation. (source)
• Workplace culture platform Thriver raises $33 million. (source)
• Torre, a professional network for remote job seekers and recruiters, raises $5 million in seed funding. (source)
• Leadership advisory and search firm Russell Reynolds Associates acquires the Cultural Analytics business of Workplace Analytics, LLC. (source)
• Indeed plans to acquire recruitment and sales process automation tool ZapInfo. (source)
• Employer-sponsored financial wellness platform Payactiv raises $100 million. (source)
• AI-driven recruiting tool Hiretual raises $13 million in a Series B round. (source)

Must-Read Reports:

The US economy is not out of the pandemic woods just yet, but the week of August 3 was the first week that less than a million Americans applied for new state unemployment benefits since March. Unemployment numbers did rise again later in the month, but this momentary dip is still an important sign that this crisis, too, shall pass.

• Dice’s Q2 Tech Job Report finds rising demand for software developers and systems engineers, plus improving employer confidence. (source)
• COVID-19 is stressing us all, but so are our bosses, according to a new SHRM survey. (source)
• Business news website The Manifest polled HR pros across the US and found that 60 percent of companies have made a hire during the pandemic. (source)

Company News:

You have to give it to LinkedIn. The company turned what could have been some very bad press — the cutting of nearly 1,000 jobs — into a bit of a PR coup with the Recent Alumni directory, which shines a spotlight on the talent LinkedIn had to let go. It’s an innovative approach to outplacement, and one wonders if it may herald a new norm for how layoffs are done. Heidrick & Struggles, which faces its own restructuring, may want to take note.

But the pandemic hasn’t universally axed headcounts across the staffing and recruiting space, and those organizations that focus on tech and remote talent are even experiencing growth. For example, cloud talent recruitment firm Tenth Revolution Group is planning to hire 600 new staff members before the year is out. 

• Video well-being solution Grokker now offers services targeted toward small and midsize businesses. (source)
• Universum ranks the most attractive employers in the US. Google holds the top spot for the fourth year in a row, with Apple and Disney coming in second and third, respectively. (source)
• Clutch names the top 45 HR consulting companies based on its platform reviews. The list includes Mercer, People Business, and Stonehill. (source)
• Seizing the obvious market opportunity, background-check firm Sterling launches a COVID-19 testing program for employers. (source)
• Sterling will have some big competition: Salesforce and CVS are partnering to offer a suite of return-to-work solutions, including COVID testing. (source)
• On a similar note, commute management solution TransitScreen is launching CommuteWise to help employees manage commuting in the time of COVID. (source)
• Korn Ferry joins the SAP PartnerEdge program. (source)
• Executive search firm APA Search is working with the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association to connect professionals who lost their jobs during the pandemic with automotive and transportation employers looking to hire them. (source)
• Itris announces itris 9, a new cloud recruiting solution. (source)
• SkillSurvey adds post-hire assessments to its array of offerings. (source)

Legal and Regulatory News:

• California’s Assembly Bill 5 — which extends protections for gig workers and establishes a stricter standard for classifying workers as “independent contractors” — is causing what the Washington Post aptly calls a “high-stakes game of chicken” between the state and Uber and Lyft. It’s an important legal battle to watch, as it could fundamentally transform the gig economy as we know it. (source)

Are you interested in having your company featured in this recruiting industry report? Send an email to our Editor, matthew@recruiter.com, with your company's news or announcements. Our regular publication, RecruiterToday, also features thought leadership from recruiting and talent acquisition professionals and accepts content contributions.