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New York Employment Report: Employee Confidence Up Slightly; More Workers Concerned About Economy
NEW YORK, N.Y., March 6, 2008 – The New York Employee Confidence Index increased 0.9 points to 49.1 in January, according to the latest Spherion® Employment Report. The monthly survey of New York workers conducted by Harris Interactive® on behalf of Spherion Corporation (NYSE:SFN), reveals that although more workers are concerned about the economy, there was an increase in the number of workers who are optimistic about job availability.
Results from the New York Employment Report:
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Sixty-six percent of workers believe the economy is getting weaker, a nine-percentage-point increase from December.
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Thirteen percent of workers report that they are optimistic about the number of jobs available, up four percentage points from the previous month.
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More workers are likely to look for a new job, with 39 percent stating that they are likely to job search, compared to 31 percent in December.
“It’s not surprising that workers are still concerned about the economy, and we could continue to see a fluctuation in the Confidence Index throughout the year as a result. Even though we saw a slight increase in overall confidence in January, we are still well below where we were this time last year,” said Linda Perneau, vice president of Spherion Staffing Services. “The good news is that there are still plenty of job opportunities for those who are seeking employment. Some of the strongest areas of job growth include financial services companies, education, healthcare and construction.”
| January Employment Report Results | New York Workers | U.S. Workers | |||||
| Dec | Jan | % Point Change | Dec | Jan | % Point Change | ||
| Economy | Getting Stronger | 5% | 8% | +3 | 12% | 9% | -3 |
| Staying Same | 38% | 26% | -12 | 30% | 23% | -7 | |
| Getting Weaker | 57% | 66% | +9 | 58% | 68% | +10 | |
| Job Availability | More Jobs | 9% | 13% | +4 | 19% | 16% | -3 |
| Same Amount | 35% | 34% | -1 | 37% | 32% | -5 | |
| Fewer Jobs | 57% | 53% | -4 | 45% | 52% | +7 | |
| Ability to Find New Job | Confident | 55% | 53% | -2 | 55% | 52% | -3 |
| Neutral | 29% | 32% | +3 | 29% | 31% | +2 | |
| Not Confident | 16% | 14% | -2 | 17% | 17% | 0 | |
| Future of Current Employer | Confident | 59% | 62% | +3 | 64% | 63% | -1 |
| Neutral | 29% | 27% | -2 | 23% | 23% | 0 | |
| Not Confident | 12% | 11% | -1 | 13% | 14% | +1 | |
| Likelihood to Lose Job | Likely | 6% | 13% | +7 | 13% | 12% | -1 |
| Neutral | 6% | 11% | +5 | 9% | 12% | +3 | |
| Not Likely | 87% | 76% | -11 | 78% | 77% | -1 | |
| Likelihood to Look for New Job | Likely | 31% | 39% | +8 | 32% | 38% | +6 |
| Neutral | 10% | 10% | 0 | 11% | 10% | -1 | |
| Not Likely | 59% | 50% | -9 | 57% | 52% | -5 | |
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 January 2008 Spherion® Employment Report was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Spherion Corporation between January 7 and 9 and January 16 and 18, 2008 among a U.S. sample of 3,137 employed adults, aged 18 years and older, of whom 207 are employed in New York (for Dec 2007 n=181). Results were weighted as needed for age, sex, race/ethnicity, income, education and region. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.
All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.
Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the U.S. adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to be invited to participate in the Harris Interactive online research panel, no estimates of 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 sourced, screened and placed millions of individuals in temporary, temp-to-hire and full-time jobs.
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.
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. Spherion operates under the following brands: Spherion Staffing Services Group for administrative, clerical and light industrial workers; Technisource for technology professionals and solutions; The Mergis Group for accounting and finance and other professional positions; Todays Staffing for specialty administrative personnel; and Spherion Recruitment Process Outsourcing. To learn more, visit http://www.spherion.com/
About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is one of the largest and fastest-growing market research firms 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 North American, European and Asian offices, 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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