Press Room

FORT LAUDERDALE Fla., May 2, 2007 — The confidence of U.S. workers who are in industrial, manufacturing and construction positions increased 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). The Industrial, Manufacturing and Construction Employee Confidence Index rose 1.6 points from 53.0 in the fourth quarter to 54.6 in the first quarter of 2007, fueled by an increase in workers who believe that the economy is stabilizing (up six percentage points) and that job availability is stabilizing (up seven percentage points). (See pdf file at bottom for complete release including graph and chart.)  

Workers’ confidence in their ability to find new employment rose two percentage points to 54 percent in the first quarter of 2007. More workers reported they were likely to look for new jobs in the next 12 months (up three percentage points to 36 percent). In addition, more than half remained confident in the future of their current employer (56 percent) and almost three-quarters (70 percent) feel secure in their jobs—both virtually unchanged from the previous quarter. By contrast, the percentage of workers who believe that more jobs are available fell from 25 to 20 percent in the first quarter. 

“Nationally, the number of nonresidential construction jobs is up 3.4 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,” said Ralph Henderson, senior vice president of Staffing Services for Spherion.  “So a measurable rise in employee confidence in that sector is to be expected.  We’ve also seen increased demand for light industrial skills, from assembly line workers and material handlers to light equipment operators. There’s also a good-news story in the growing need for skilled engineers and technologists, as manufacturers seek greater plant and process innovation in order to remain globally competitive.”  

Employee Confidence Index: The Employee Confidence Index for Industrial, Manufacturing and Construction workers rose 1.6 points in the first quarter of 2007, fueled by an increase in the percentage of workers who believe the economy is stabilizing (up six percentage points) and job availability is stabilizing (up seven percentage points). This sector lags the overall U.S. Index by almost five 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 light industrial, manufacturing and construction industry 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.

Methodology  

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 a pure probability sample of 11,187 adults one could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the overall results would have a sampling error of +/- one percentage point. Sampling error for the results of employed adults who work in administrative and clerical positions (n=412) would be +/- five 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 more than 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 and , 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 300,000 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 Time^SM, 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 innovative research, 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 it believes to be the world’s largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its , Europe and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiaries Novatris in France and MediaTransfer AG in , and through a global network of independent market research firms. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at www.harrisinteractive.com.