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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., November 1, 2006 — The Administrative and Clerical Employee Confidence Index, a measure of workers’ confidence in the overall economy and their personal employment prospects, declined one point to 53.1 in the third quarter, according to the latest Employment Report conducted by Harris Interactive® on behalf of Spherion Corporation. Changes in personal employment prospects were primarily responsible for the decline.
The percentage of workers who believe that more jobs are available dropped four percentage points, from 21 percent in the second quarter to 17 percent in the third quarter, while workers confident of their ability to find new employment declined two percentage points to 48 percent. In addition, slightly fewer workers reported confidence in the future of their current employer, and slightly more believe the economy is getting weaker.
Despite these signs of reduced optimism, the number of administrative and clerical workers who believe they are unlikely to lose their jobs in the next 12 months rose to 81 percent—up four percentage points from second quarter. In addition, less than one-third (32 percent) of workers are likely to seek new employment in the next 12 months as compared to 38 percent the previous quarter.
“The dip in the Employee Confidence Index notwithstanding, workers in this sector remain confident of their job security and more inclined to stay where they are,” said Ralph Henderson, senior vice president of Staffing Services for Spherion®. “And they have good reason to be. We’re seeing an increased demand for executive assistants and high-level administrative and clerical employees across the board, including call center staff. In the current tight labor market, workers are less willing to accept long commutes and are more demanding of higher pay. We’re also seeing some relaxation of pre-screening activities by employers as their options become slightly more limited.”
Employee Confidence Index: The Administrative and Clerical Employee Confidence Index declined one point in the third quarter of 2006 as fewer workers believed that more jobs were available (down four percentage points) and fewer reported confidence in their ability to find new employment (down two percentage points). This sector continues to lag the overall U.S. Index, which declined 0.3 points during the same period.
| Admin. & Clerical Workers | U.S. Workers | ||||||
| 2Q 2006 | 3Q 2006 | % Point Change |
2Q 2006 | 3Q 2006 | % Point Change |
||
| Economy | Getting Stronger | 13% | 15% | +2 | 22% | 20% | -2 |
| Staying Same | 40% | 36% | -4 | 35% | 36% | +1 | |
| Getting Weaker | 47% | 50% | +3 | 43% | 44% | +1 | |
| Job Availability | More Jobs | 21% | 17% | -4 | 26% | 25% | -1 |
| Same Amount | 36% | 38% | +2 | 35% | 36% | +1 | |
| Fewer Jobs | 43% | 45% | +2 | 39% | 39% | 0 | |
| Ability to Find New Job | Confident | 50% | 48% | -2 | 57% | 58% | +1 |
| Neutral | 33% | 37% | +4 | 28% | 28% | 0 | |
| Not Confident | 17% | 14% | -3 | 15% | 14% | -1 | |
| Future of Current Employer | Confident | 68% | 67% | -1 | 65% | 64% | -1 |
| Neutral | 21% | 21% | 0 | 22% | 24% | +2 | |
| Not Confident | 11% | 12% | +1 | 13% | 12% | -1 | |
| Likelihood to Lose Job | Likely | 13% | 12% | -1 | 12% | 11% | -1 |
| Neutral | 10% | 9% | -1 | 11% | 10% | -1 | |
| Not Likely | 77% | 81% | +4 | 77% | 79% | +2 | |
| Likelihood to Look for New Job | Likely | 38% | 32% | -6 | 37% | 35% | -2 |
| Neutral | 6% | 9% | +3 | 10% | 10% | 0 | |
| Not Likely | 56% | 59% | +3 | 53% | 54% | +1 | |
About the Spherion Employment Report
As part of the Spherion Emerging Workforce® series of employment surveys,this quarterly Spherion Employment Report provides a snapshot of the latest workforce trends among administrative and clerical workers across the country. 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 and is scaled from 0 (no confidence) to 100 (complete confidence). A reading above 50 indicates a positive confidence level.
Methodology
The 2006 Spherion Employment Report is based on data from a Harris Interactive® online survey conducted on behalf of Spherion Corporation. A U.S. sample of 9,095 employed adults, aged 18 years and older, of whom 858 work in administrative and clerical positions, was interviewed in a series of polls conducted between July 5-7, July 11-13, August 8-10, August 15-17, September 5-7 and September 11-13, 2006. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, income, education and region were weighted where necessary to bring them in line with actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting adjusted for respondents’ propensity to be online.
With pure probability samples, with 100 percent response rates, it is possible to calculate the probability that the sampling error (but not other sources of error) is not greater than some number. With a pure probability sample of 9,095 U.S. employed adults one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- one percentage point, and the sampling error for the results of employed adults who work in administrative and clerical positions (n= 858) is plus or minus three percentage points. However, that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no 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 60 years, Spherion has screened and placed millions of individuals in temporary, temp-to-hire and full-time jobs. Positions range from administrative and light industrial to a host of professions that include accounting/finance, information technology, engineering, manufacturing, legal, human resources and sales/marketing.
With approximately 650 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 375,000 people annually through its network, Spherion is one of North America’s largest employers. To learn more, visit www.spherion.com. For up-to-date career tips and trends, visit Spherion’s career blog, The Big TimeSM, at www.spherion.com/careerblog.
About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is the 12th largest and fastest-growing market research firm in the world. The company provides research-driven insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what could conceivably be the world’s largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States, Europe and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiary Novatris in France and through a global network of independent market research firms. The service bureau, HISB, provides its market research industry clients with mixed-mode data collection, panel development services as well as syndicated and tracking research consultation. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at www.harrisinteractive.com.
To become a member of the Harris Poll Online and be invited to participate in online surveys, register at http://go.hpolsurveys.com/PR.
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