Press Room

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., May 2, 2007 — The Administrative and Clerical Employee Confidence Index, a measure of worker confidence in the overall economy and their personal employment prospects, rose nearly two points from 54.9 in the fourth quarter of 2006 to 56.8 in the first quarter of 2007, according to the latest Spherion^® Employment Report survey conducted by Harris Interactive^® on behalf of Spherion Corporation (NYSE:SFN). Overall confidence increased primarily because more workers believe there are more jobs available and more are optimistic about their employers’ futures.  (See pdf file attached at bottom for complete press release including charts.)

More than three-quarters (77 percent) of administrative and clerical workers believe it is unlikely that they will lose their jobs in the next 12 months (up one percentage point from the previous quarter) and more workers (19 percent) believe that more jobs are available, up two percentage points from the fourth quarter. More than half (52 percent) remain confident of their ability to find new employment. Despite steady personal confidence, 41 percent of workers believe the economy is weakening, a rise of two percentage points from the previous quarter.

“The dip in overall economic confidence notwithstanding, administrative and clerical workers remain fairly upbeat in terms of confidence in their personal situations,” said Ralph Henderson, senior vice president of Staffing Services for Spherion. “The sustained low unemployment rate, which is tightening up the talent pool in markets across the country, is no doubt a contributing factor to employee confidence.” 

Employee Confidence Index: The Administrative and Clerical Employee Confidence Index rose 1.9 points from the fourth quarter of last year, to open 2007 at 56.8 as more workers reported optimism in the availability of jobs (up two percentage points to 19 percent) and their employers’ futures (up two percentage points to 67 percent). While this sector continues to lag the overall U.S. Employee Confidence Index, the gap has narrowed to less than three points.

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, 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 those 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.

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