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California Employment Report: Employee Confidence Index Continues Steady Decline As More Workers Believe Economy Is Getting Weaker
LOS ANGELES, Calif., May 18, 2007 – The California Employee Confidence Index decreased for the third consecutive month, dropping 1.8 points to 57.3 in April, according to the latest Spherion® Employment Report. This month’s survey of California workers, conducted by Harris Interactive® on behalf of Spherion Corporation (NYSE:SFN), shows that more workers are not likely to look for a job in the next 12 months, and fewer workers are confident in their ability to find a new job.
Results from the California Employment Report:
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Fewer workers are confident about their ability to find a new job with 60 percent reporting confidence, a drop of three percentage points from March.
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Forty-three percent of workers believe that the economy is getting weaker, an increase of three percentage points from the previous month.
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Sixty-two percent of workers say they are unlikely to look for a new job, an increase of 10 percentage points from March.
“The Confidence Index continues to trickle downwards as more workers feel uncertain about the strength of the economy,” explained Lauren Steel, territory vice president for Spherion. “Despite the decline, there is good news for job seekers across the state, especially in administrative, customer service and manufacturing positions. We’re seeing continued demand for workers in those areas, especially as unemployment rates make it harder and harder for employers to find qualified talent. And even though fewer workers say they aren’t planning to look for a new job in the near future, it still is a good time to consider a job change because there are open positions available.”
| April Employment Report Results | |||||||
| California Workers | U.S. Workers | ||||||
| Mar | Apr | % Point Change | Mar | Apr | % Point Change | ||
| Economy | Getting Stronger | 15% | 16% | +1 | 17% | 19% | +2 |
| Staying Same | 45% |
41% |
-4 | 42% | 39% | -2 | |
| Getting Weaker | 40% | 43% | +3 | 41% | 42% | +1 | |
| Job Availability | More Jobs | 26% | 23% | -3 | 24% | 25% | +1 |
| Same Amount | 41% | 41% | 0 | 40% | 36% | -4 | |
| Fewer Jobs | 33% | 36% | +3 | 36% | 38% | +2 | |
| Ability to Find New Job | Confident | 63% | 60% | -3 | 58% | 57% | -1 |
| Neutral | 25% | 29% | +4 | 28% | 29% | +1 | |
| Not Confident | 11% | 11% | 0 | 15% | 14% | -1 | |
| Future of Current Employer | Confident | 64% | 62% | -2 | 63% | 66% | -3 |
| Neutral | 25% | 26% | +1 | 25% | 23% | -2 | |
| Not Confident | 11% | 12% | +1 | 13% | 11% | -2 | |
| Likelihood to Lose Job | Likely | 6% | 7% | +1 | 10% | 11% | +1 |
| Neutral | 12% | 13% | +1 | 9% | 11% | +2 | |
| Not Likely | 82% | 80% | -2 | 80% | 78% | -2 | |
| Likelihood to Look for New Job | Likely | 33% | 25% | -8 | 33% | 35% | +2 |
| Neutral | 15% | 13% | -2 | 13% | 11% | -2 | |
| Not Likely | 52% | 62% | +10 | 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 April 2007 Spherion® Employment Report is based on data from a Harris Interactive® QuickQuerySM online omnibusconducted on behalf of Spherion Corporation. A U.S. sample of 3,190 employed adults, aged 18 years and older, of whom 270 are employed in California (for Mar 2007 n=297), was interviewed in a series of two polls conducted between April 4 and 6 and April 9 and 11, 2007. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, income, education and region were weighted where it is 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 3,190 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 California 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.
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 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 United States, Europe and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiaries Novatris in France and MediaTransfer AG in Germany, and through a global network of independent market research firms. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at www.harrisinteractive.com.
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 United States, Europe and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiaries Novatris in France and MediaTransfer AG in Germany, and through a global network of independent market research firms. 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 www.harrispollonline.com.
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