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California Employment Report: Confidence Index Increases as More Workers Confident in Their Ability to Find New Job
LOS ANGELES, Calif., November 16, 2007 – The California Employee Confidence Index increased 1.2 points to 58.6 in October, according to the latest Spherion® Employment Report. The recent survey of California workers, conducted by Harris Interactive® on behalf of Spherion Corporation (NYSE:SFN), reveals that more workers are confident in their ability to find a new job and more workers are likely to look for a new job.

 

Results from the California Employment Report:

  • Two-thirds of workers are positive about their job prospects, with 66 percent reporting that they are confident in their ability to find a new job, an increase of ten percentage points from September.
  • Forty percent of workers are likely to look for a new job in the next twelve months, a seven-percentage-point increase from the previous month.
  • A quarter (25%) of employees believe that more jobs are available, a decrease of four percentage points from September.
 
“With unemployment rates across the state at or near historic lows, employees are definitely in the drivers’ seat when it comes to finding or changing jobs,” explained Lauren Steel, territory vice president for Spherion. “The state’s job market is showing continued strength. In our staffing and recruiting business, we’ve seen a recent pick up in manufacturing in Southern California, as well as an array of positions in accounting and finance, particularly in the San Francisco area. We are also seeing some of our clients ramping up their hiring for seasonal work, especially for retail and customer service positions.”

October Employment Report Results California Workers U.S.  Workers
  Sep Oct % Point Change Sep Oct % Point Change
Economy Getting Stronger  20% 17% -3 18% 17% -1
Staying Same 34% 41% +7 38% 38%  0
Getting Weaker 46% 43% -3 44% 46%  +2
Job Availability More Jobs 29% 25% -4 26% 24% -2
Same Amount 37% 39% +2 35% 38% +3
Fewer Jobs 34% 36% +2 39% 39% 0
Ability to Find New Job Confident 56% 66% +10 58% 58% 0
Neutral 26% 18% -8 27% 27% 0
Not Confident 18% 16% -2 15% 15% 0
Future of Current Employer Confident 65% 67% +2 64% 65% +1
Neutral 23% 22% -1 23% 23% 0
Not Confident 12% 11% -1 13% 12% -1
Likelihood to Lose Job Likely 9% 12% +3 11% 11% 0
Neutral 10% 12% +2 10% 12% +2
Not Likely 81% 77% -4 79% 77% -2
Likelihood to Look for New Job Likely 33% 40% +7 33% 34% +1
Neutral 15% 12% -3 13% 13% 0
Not Likely 51% 47% -4 54% 53% -1

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 October 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 2,948 employed adults, aged 18 years and older, of whom 249 are employed in California (for Sep 2007 n=280), was interviewed in a series of two polls conducted between October 3 and 5 and October 8 and 10, 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 2,948 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 +/- five percentage points. However, that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probabi49lity sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

 

 

 

 

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 http://go.hpolsurveys.com/PR.

 

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 sourced, 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 700 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 more than 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 TimeSM , at www.spherion.com/careerblog.

CA-Emp-Rep-Oct07-PDF
Click here for a PDF of the Report (95 KB)

 

Media Contact

Lesly Cardec

954.308.6302

 

leslycardec@sfngroup.com

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