- Sixty-Five Percent of Workers Are Confident in the Future of their Current Employer - Fifty-One Percent Express Confidence in Their Ability to Find a New Job
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla., Sept. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Spherion
Employee Confidence Index jumped 2.4 points to 47.6 in August, representing
the first increase in the Index since May. The survey, conducted by Harris
Interactive(R) on behalf of Spherion Corporation (NYSE: SFN) measures U.S.
workers' confidence in their personal employment situation and optimism in the
macroeconomic environment. The Index increased as workers' optimism about the
economy and confidence in their ability to find a new job rose slightly. In
addition, more than one-third (37 percent) of surveyed workers are likely to
look for a new job in the next 12 months, an increase of four percentage
points since July.
Specifically, the Index was boosted by increases in the percentage of
workers that believe the economy is getting stronger and that more jobs are
available. Job security remained stable, with over three-quarters (76 percent)
of surveyed workers saying they are unlikely to lose their job in the next 12
months, unchanged since June.
"After months of decline, it is refreshing to see U.S. workers feeling
more confident. Despite the uncertain economy, news of an upward revision to
U.S. GDP growth in the second quarter, higher than expected worker
productivity and lower energy prices likely support this jump in optimism,"
said William Grubbs, executive vice president and chief operating officer of
Spherion Corporation. "As we head into the fourth quarter, the job market
remains equally challenging for employers and candidates. As employers remain
extremely selective in their hiring decisions, candidates now have to prove
their worth more than ever in order to stand out in a much larger crowd."
Grubbs continued, "The sluggish economy has painted a somewhat grim
picture for many sectors, but we are seeing a few bright spots in our own
business. There continues to be a strong need for professional positions,
particularly financial analysts, healthcare and warehousing professionals.
Despite the economic slowdown, there still are opportunities out there given
the right sector and location."
Results from the August Spherion Employment Report:
Overall Confidence Level Rebounds: The Spherion Employee Confidence Index
jumped 2.4 points to 47.6 in August, representing the first increase in the
Index since May. The Index, which measures workers' confidence in their
personal employment situation and optimism in the macroeconomic environment,
increased as workers optimism in the economy and confidence in their ability
to find a new job strengthened. In addition, more workers said they are likely
to look for new jobs in the next 12 months.
Details of the Index:
Macroeconomic Confidence:
-- Eight percent of workers believe the economy is getting stronger,
increasing three percentage points from July.
-- Eleven percent of U.S. adult workers believe there are more jobs
available, an increase of one percentage point from the previous month.
Personal Confidence:
-- Sixty-five percent of U.S. adult workers feel confident in the future
of their current employer, a one percentage point decrease from July.
-- The percentage of U.S. adult workers confident in their ability to find
a new job increased two percentage points from July to 51 percent.
Job Security: Over Three-quarters of Workers Say it is Unlikely They Will
Lose Their Job
-- Seventy-six percent of U.S. workers say it is unlikely they will lose
their jobs in the next 12 months, unchanged from June and July.
Job Transition: Percentage of Workers Likely to Look for a New Job Jumps
-- Thirty-seven percent of workers are likely to look for a new job in the
next twelve months, an increase of four percentage point from the prior month.
About the Spherion Employment Report
As part of the Spherion(R) Emerging Workforce(R) Series of employment
surveys, the monthly Spherion Employment Report provides a snapshot of the
latest workforce trends across the country and is issued in conjunction with
state and national labor market releases. Three key indices are measured: the
Spherion Job Security Index, which captures how likely respondents think it is
that they will lose their job or that their job will be eliminated in the next
12 months; the Spherion Job Transition Index, which captures how likely
respondents are to look for a new job in the next 12 months and the Employee
Confidence Index that measures employees' overall confidence in the economy,
their employer and their ability to find other employment. The Employee
Confidence Index is calculated from the results of four components that
reflect these aspects of employee confidence. For each component item a
'score' is calculated by taking the difference of the percentage of positive
responses and the percentage of negative responses. These four scores are then
averaged to indicate an overall level of employee confidence, with each score
ranking on a scale from 0 (no confidence) to 100 (complete confidence). A
reading above 50 indicates a positive confidence level.
Methodology
This August 2008 Spherion Employment Tracker was conducted online within
the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Spherion Corporation
between August 6-8 and August 12-14, 2008 among a U.S. sample of 2,861
employed adults, aged 18 years and older (July 2008 n=3,161). Results were
weighted as needed for age, sex, race/ethnicity, income, education and region.
Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity
to be online.
All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability
sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not
possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error,
error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and
response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris
Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All
that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different
probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates.
These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this
ideal.
Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed
to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to
reflect the composition of the U.S. adult population. Because the sample is
based on those who agreed to be invited to participate in the Harris
Interactive online research panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error
can be calculated.
About Spherion
Spherion Corporation (NYSE: SFN) is a leading recruiting and staffing
company that provides integrated solutions to meet the evolving needs of
companies and job candidates. As an industry pioneer for more than 60 years,
Spherion has sourced, screened and placed millions of individuals in
temporary, temp-to-hire and full-time jobs.
With approximately 700 locations in the United States and Canada, Spherion
delivers innovative workforce solutions that improve business performance.
Spherion provides its services to more than 8,000 customers, from Fortune 500
companies to a wide range of small and mid-size organizations. Employing more
than 300,000 people annually through its network, Spherion is one of North
America's largest employers. Spherion operates under the following brands:
Spherion Staffing Services Group for administrative, clerical and light
industrial workers; Technisource for technology professionals and solutions;
The Mergis Group for accounting and finance and other professional positions;
Todays Office Professionals for specialty administrative personnel; and
Spherion Recruitment Process Outsourcing. To learn more, visit
www.spherion.com.
About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a
long and rich history in multimodal research that is powered by our science
and technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris
Interactive serves clients globally through our North American, European and
Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms. For more
information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.
SOURCE Spherion Corporation
