Manpower to handle military recruitment for Australia

NEW YORK Dec 22 (Reuters) - Manpower Inc (MAN.N) has won a $200 million contract to run the recruiting program for the Australian military, in what the global staffing services company calls the biggest recruitment process outsourcing program in the world.

The program for the Australian Defence Force will start in February and last 27 months. Manpower's services include recruitment functions from marketing and promotion to candidate screening and hiring.

Analysts have said recruitment process outsourcing could be one of the growth areas of the staffing industry during economic recovery, as more employers choose to outsource this function as a way of cutting costs. RPO services generate higher profit margins than traditional temporary staffing services, according to a company presentation.

Manpower shares were up 3.9 percent at $57.28 in morning New York Stock Exchange trading. (Reporting by Nick Zieminski; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)