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Texas Employment Report: Employee Confidence Index Rises in February as More Workers Believe Economy Is Getting Stronger

DALLAS, Texas, March 29, 2007 – The Texas Employee Confidence Index rebounded in February, rising 2.1 points to 63.8, according to the latest Spherion® Employment Report. The monthly survey of Texas workers, conducted by Harris Interactive® on behalf of Spherion Corporation (NYSE:SFN), indicated that more workers believe that the economy is getting stronger and more say they are unlikely to look for a new job.


Results from the Texas Employment Report:

  • Thirty-two percent of workers believe that the economy is getting stronger, a four-percentage-point increase from last month.

  • Fifty-eight percent of workers say they are unlikely to look for a new job, an eleven-percentage-point increase from January.

  • More workers believe that the job availability held steady in February, with 39 percent saying that the same amount of jobs were available as in January.
“The state is still seeing solid job growth, a falling unemployment rate and high level of worker confidence,” said Kim Lockhart, director of operations for Spherion in Texas. “More workers are optimistic about the economy and confident in the future of their current employers and their ability to find a new job if they wanted or needed to. This rebound in confidence is certainly understandable, given the increased demand for workers by a wide range of companies and the fact that we have seen more companies moving their headquarters, operations or call center facilities to Texas in recent months. This growth is great for the state, but it comes with a price – talent is even more difficult to find in certain markets as more and more jobs are created.”
“Th 
  Texas Workers U.S.  Workers
  Jan  Feb
% Point Change
Jan
Feb
% Point Change
Economy Getting Stronger 28%
32%
+4
24%
24%
0
Staying Same 39%  41%
+2
42%
42%
Getting Weaker 33%
27%
-6
34%
34%
Job Availability More Jobs 37%
34%
-3
28%
28%
Same Amount 30%
39%
+9
37%
37%
Fewer Jobs 32%
27%
-5
35%
35%
Ability to Find New Job Confident 62%
63%
+1
60%
60%
Neutral 24%
23%
-1
27%
27%
Not Confident 15%
13%
-2
13%
13%
Future of Current Employer Confident 62%
64%
+2
66%
65%
-1
Neutral 23%
21%
-2
22%
22%
0
Not Confident 15%
15%
0
12%
13%
+1
Likelihood to Lose Job Likely 11 %
13%
+2
11%
10%
-1
Neutral 14%
14%
0
10%
10%
0
Not Likely 75%
73%
-2
79%
80%
+1
Likelihood to Look for New Job Likely 37%
32%
-5
35%
36%
+1
Neutral 17%  9%
-8
12%
10%
-2
Not Likely 47%
58%
+11
54%
54%
0

About the Spherion Employment Report

As part of the Spherion® Emerging Workforce® 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, which measures employees’ overall confidence in the economy, the future of their employer, the availability of jobs, and their ability to find other employment. The Employee Confidence Index is based on these four components, with a ‘score’ calculated for each 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 scaled from 0 (no confidence) to 100 (complete confidence). A reading above 50 indicates a positive confidence level.

Methodology
The February 2007 Spherion® Employment Report is based on data from a Harris Interactive® QuickQuerySM online survey conducted on behalf of Spherion Corporation. A U.S. sample of 4,022 employed adults, aged 18 years and older, of whom 242 are employed in Texas (for Jan 2006 n=302) was interviewed in a series of two polls conducted between February 5-7 and February 12-14, 2007. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, income, education and region were weighted where necessary to bring them in line with their 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 4,022 U.S. employed adults one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results would have a sampling error of +/- two percentage points, and the sampling error for the Texas state sample results would be +/- six 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, visit www.harrispollonline.com. 
 
 
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TX-Employment-Report-Feb07-PDF
Click here for a PDF of the Report (80 KB)

 

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Lesly Cardec

954.308.6302

 

leslycardec@sfngroup.com

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