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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., April 15, 2008 — The IT Employee Confidence Index, a measure of overall confidence among U.S. information technology workers, dropped 11.4 points to 47.4 in the first quarter of 2008, reaching its lowest level since measurement began in 2005, according to a recent survey commissioned by Technisource, a subsidiary of Spherion Corporation (NYSE:SFN) and conducted by Harris Interactive®. Despite continued demand for skilled technology professionals, overall confidence levels among surveyed IT workers declined in the first quarter as a result of workers increased doubt in the economy, job market and in their personal employment situation.
Results from the IT Employment Report:
- Sixty-nine percent of technology workers believe the economy is getting weaker, up 17 percentage points from the fourth quarter of 2007.
- Close to two-thirds of workers (62 percent) are still confident in the future of their current employer, compared to 66 percent from the previous quarter.
- More than half of workers (55 percent) believe that fewer jobs are available, up 20 percentage points from the fourth quarter of 2007; yet 48 percent of technology workers are still confident in their ability to find a new job.
“It is not surprising to see this dip in IT worker confidence given the current state of the economy. With reports surfacing of future instability from financial stalwarts in connection with the sub-prime mortgage situation and two H-1B visa bills currently being debated in Congress, insecurity felt over job availability might not seem so far-fetched,” said Michael Winwood, President of Technisource. “However, we continue to see demand from employers looking to fill key technology positions with highly skilled talent. The field, in general, is extremely competitive. Those candidates that possess these highly sought after skills are considered hot commodities in today’s market. In our own business, we continue to see a strong demand for technology professionals with experience in .Net, Java, business intelligence and systems architecture. We foresee these skills, in addition to others, to continue as new technologies enter the business world.”
| 1Q 2008 Employment Report Results: Information Technology | IT Workers | U.S. Workers | |||||
| 4Q 2007 | 1Q 2008 | % Point Change | 4Q 2007 | 1Q 2008 | % Point Change | ||
| Economy | Getting Stronger | 12% | 8% | -4 | 14% | 7% | -7 |
| Staying Same | 36% | 23% | -13 | 33% | 24% | -9 | |
| Getting Weaker | 52% | 69% | +17 | 53% | 69% | +16 | |
| Job Availability | More Jobs | 25% | 14% | -11 | 21% | 14% | -7 |
| Same Amount | 40% | 31% | -9 | 38% | 32% | -6 | |
| Fewer Jobs | 35% | 55% | +20 | 42% | 54% | +12 | |
| Ability to Find New Job | Confident | 60% | 48% | -12 | 56% | 53% | -3 |
| Neutral | 25% | 37% | +12 | 28% | 30% | +2 | |
| Not Confident | 15% | 16% | +1 | 16% | 17% | +1 | |
| Future of Current Employer | Confident | 66% | 62% | -4 | 63% | 64% | +1 |
| Neutral | 20% | 24% | +4 | 24% | 23% | -1 | |
| Not Confident | 14% | 14% | 0 | 13% | 14% | +1 | |
| Likelihood to Lose Job | Likely | 17% | 16% | -1 | 12% | 12% | 0 |
| Neutral | 13% | 12% | -1 | 10% | 11% | +1 | |
| Not Likely | 70% | 72% | +2 | 78% | 77% | -1 | |
| Likelihood to Look for New Job | Likely | 40% | 39% | -1 | 33% | 36% | +3 |
| Neutral | 14% | 13% | -1 | 11% | 10% | -1 | |
| Not Likely | 46% | 48% | +2 | 56% | 53% | -3 | |
About the Spherion Employment Report
As part of the Spherion® Emerging Workforce® Series of employment surveys, the quarterly Spherion Information Technology Employment Report provides a snapshot of the latest workforce trends among information technology professionals 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 that measures employees’ overall confidence in the economy, their employer and their ability to find other employment. The Employee Confidence Index is calculated from the results of four components that reflect these aspects of employee confidence. For each component item a ‘score’ is calculated 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 and is scaled from 0 (no confidence) to 100 (complete confidence). A reading above 50 indicates a positive confidence level.
Methodology
This 2008 Spherion® IT Employment Report was conducted online within the United by Harris Interactive on behalf of Spherion Corporation between January 7-9 and January 16-18, February 6-8 and February 11-13, March 4-6 and March 10-12, 2008. Surveys were conducted among a U.S. sample of 9,512 employed adults, aged 18 years and older, of whom 578 work in information technology positions. 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 Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a long and rich history in multimodal research, powered by our science and technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris Interactive serves clients globally through our North American, European and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.
Technisource, one of the largest technology services providers in North America, delivers a wide range of staffing, management services and technology solutions to a broad range of clients to maximize their technology investments. Focused on quality, flexibility and value, the company’s service offerings range from IT staffing, deployment and support services to software quality management, strategic projects and outsourcing.
Through its network of 60 offices across the U.S., Technisource maintains a group of 8,000 experienced consultants and employees that deliver its portfolio of service offerings to Fortune 500 corporations, mid-sized companies and small organizations. Founded in 1987, Technisource is a subsidiary of Spherion Corporation (NYSE:SFN). For more information, please visit www.technisource.com.
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