Press Room

COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 18, 2008 — The Ohio Employee Confidence Index decreased 5.8 points to 41.9 in March, according to the Spherion^® Employment Report. The monthly survey conducted by Harris Interactive^® on behalf of Spherion Corporation (NYSE:SFN), indicates that while workers feel uneasy about the macroeconomic situation, more are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months.

 Results from the Ohio Employment Report:

• More than three-fourths (76 percent) of workers believe the economy is getting weaker, an increase of 15 percentage points from February.
• Thirty-eight percent of workers are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months, up four percentage points from the previous month.
• Three-fourths of workers believe there are fewer jobs available, up 13 percentage points from the previous month.

“It seems like the current state of the U.S. economy has made a noticeable impact on the Confidence Index, which has declined for the sixth month in a row and has reached a record-low,” explained Robert Schulte, Spherion franchise owner in Ohio. “Although more workers believe there are fewer jobs available, our survey indicates that the majority of workers are confident in their ability to find new jobs and more are planning to search for them in the next 12 months. With nearly 40 percent of workers looking to make a job transition, employers looking to snag top talent must offer innovative benefits such as work/life balance, flexible schedules and unique benefits to motivate these workers.”

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 March 2008 Spherion^® Employment Report was conducted online within the United by Harris Interactive on behalf of Spherion Corporation between March 4 and 6 and March 10 and 12, 2008 among a U.S. sample of 3,726  employed adults, aged 18 years and older, of whom 161 are employed in Ohio (for Feb 2008 n=123). 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.   

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 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.

To become a member of the Harris Poll Online and be invited to participate in online surveys, register at www.harrispollonline.com.