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California Employment Report: Confidence Index Drops to Record Low; Workers Remain Confident in Personal Employment Situation
LOS ANGELES, Calif., February 29, 2008 – The California Employee Confidence Index dropped 2.3 points to 48.0 in January, the lowest level recorded in the history of the survey, according to the latest Spherion® Employment Report. The monthly survey of California workers, conducted by Harris Interactive® on behalf of Spherion Corporation (NYSE:SFN), indicates that while more workers feel uneasy about the strength of the economy and job availability, more remain confident in their personal employment situation.
Results from the California Employment Report:
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Seventy-one percent of workers believe the economy is getting weaker, an increase of eight percentage points from December.
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More than half (55 percent) of workers are confident in their ability to find a new job, up one percentage point from the previous month.
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More than three-fourths (77 percent) of California workers believe it is unlikely they will lose their job in the next 12 months, an increase of one percentage point from 76 in December.
“The recent reports suggesting an economic slowdown seem to be making a noticeable impact on workers’ macroeconomic confidence. Our survey shows a record-low Index for the second month in a row. Falling home prices and an increase in home foreclosures in the California market may have significantly contributed to the decline,” explained Lauren Steel, territory vice president for Spherion. “However, despite the lack of stability in the economy, workers remain confident in their ability to find a new job and believe that it is unlikely they will lose their jobs in the next 12 months. California workers are quite justified in this confidence, as we are continuing to see steady job growth and demand in the areas of business and professional services, trade and hospitality and manufacturing.”
| January 2008 Employment Report Results | California Workers | U.S. Workers | |||||
| Dec | Jan | % Point Change | Dec | Jan | % Point Change | ||
| Economy | Getting Stronger | 16% | 5% | -11 | 12% | 9% | -3 |
| Staying Same | 22% | 24% | +2 | 30% | 23% | -7 | |
| Getting Weaker | 63% | 71% | +8 | 58% | 68% | +10 | |
| Job Availability | More Jobs | 19% | 13% | -6 | 19% | 16% | -3 |
| Same Amount | 34% | 35% | +1 | 37% | 32% | -5 | |
| Fewer Jobs | 47% | 53% | +6 | 45% | 52% | +7 | |
| Ability to Find New Job | Confident | 54% | 55% | +1 | 55% | 52% | -3 |
| Neutral | 28% | 31% | +3 | 29% | 31% | +2 | |
| Not Confident | 18% | 14% | -4 | 17% | 17% | 0 | |
| Future of Current Employer | Confident | 62% | 63% | +1 | 64% | 63% | -1 |
| Neutral | 17% | 24% | +7 | 23% | 23% | 0 | |
| Not Confident | 20% | 13% | -7 | 13% | 14% | +1 | |
| Likelihood to Lose Job | Likely | 13% | 12% | -1 | 13% | 12% | -1 |
| Neutral | 11% | 11% | 0 | 9% | 12% | +3 | |
| Not Likely | 76% | 77% | +1 | 78% | 77% | -1 | |
| Likelihood to Look for New Job | Likely | 35% | 36% | +1 | 32% | 38% | +6 |
| Neutral | 12% | 13% | +1 | 11% | 10% | -1 | |
| Not Likely | 53% | 52% | -1 | 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 by Harris Interactive on behalf of Spherion Corporation between January 7 and 9 and January 16-18, 2008 among a U.S. sample of 3,137 employed adults, aged 18 years and older, of whom 302 are employed in California (for Dec 2007 n=189). 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.
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 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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