TrueBlue, Inc.

Greetings and welcome to the True Blue second quarter 2023 earnings call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A brief question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce you to your host, Derek Gafford, EVP. Thank you, Derek. You can begin.

Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining today's call. I'm joined by our Chief Executive Officer, Steve Cooper, and our President and Chief Operating Officer, Taryn Owen. Before we begin, I want to remind everyone that today's call and slide presentation contain forward-looking statements, all of which are subject to risks and uncertainties, and we assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties, some of which are described in our press release and in our SEC filings, could cause actual results to differ materially from those in our forward-looking statements. We use non-GAAP measures when presenting our financial results. We encourage you to review the non-GAAP reconciliations in today's earnings release or at TrueBlue.com under the In Reps or Relations section for a complete understanding of these terms and their purpose. Any comparisons made today are based on a comparison to the same period in the prior year, unless otherwise stated. Lastly, we will be providing a copy of our prepared remarks on our website at the conclusion of today's call, and a full transcript and audio replay will also be available soon after the call. Okay, let's turn the call over to Steve.

Thank you, Derek, and welcome everyone to today's call. Revenue for the quarter was $476 million, down 16% compared to the prior year. Our results reflect an environment of softening demand. While the broader economy remains mixed with some traditional indicators showing resilience and others highlighting caution, when it comes to the staffing industry, the recessionary sentiment has already taken effect. Economic uncertainty is weighing on our customers And we're seeing that manifest in the demand trends across all three of our segments. Given the tight labor market, clients continue to focus on retaining employees, but they're also increasingly focused on reducing costs. As a result, clients are becoming more selective on which jobs they choose to fill. While the number of job openings across the United States remains high at about 10 million, the jobs added in recent months have been primarily in professional and permanent roles. For manufacturing, wholesale, and retail trade, which involve more blue collar positions, and where we play a larger role in the market, as well as with temporary help overall, the number of open jobs has declined year over year. While the challenging macro environment is leading to lower staffing volumes, clients still need help finding talent to fill critical roles. With our decades of experience and breadth of services, we know how to find the right talent for our clients. Even though current demand levels are not what we'd like, the long-term outlook for staffing remains positive and really comes down to a matter of timing. We're often viewed as an early indicator for broader trends, being that we're usually first in and first out when it comes to economic cycles. We take pride in helping our customers through these challenging times, and are prepared to help them as the macroeconomic environment improves. Now I'll turn the call over to Taryn, who will provide additional detail about the actions we're taking today, as well as our growth strategies for the future.