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New York Employment Report: Employee Confidence Index Rebounds

NEW YORK, N.Y., December 18, 2008 – Despite economic woes, the New York Employee Confidence Index increased 5.2 points to 43.6 in November, according to the latest Spherion^® Employment Report. The monthly survey of New York workers, conducted by Harris Interactive^® on behalf of Spherion Corporation, reveals that more workers are confident in their ability to find a new job, as well as the future of their current employer.

Results from the New York Employment Report

Forty-six percent of workers are confident in their ability to find employment, an increase of 11 percentage points from October.
Seventy percent of those surveyed are confident in the future of their current employer, an 11-percentage-point increase from the previous month.
Since October, there was a slight increase in the number of workers (to seven percent) reporting their belief that the economy was getting stronger, an increase of six percentage points.

“Obviously the economy is facing some challenges as we close out 2008, but New York’s report this month showed some encouraging signs with the Employee Confidence Index rebounding,” said Linda Perneau, vice president of Spherion Staffing Services. “For the most part, companies are turning their efforts internally to retain their top talent, which may be a reason for the increase in workers feeling confident about their current employer. This is not a sign that jobs are not available, however, as stores began to stock up with seasonal merchandise, causing retail and transportation to add jobs.”

November 2008 Employment Report Results		New York Workers			U.S. Workers
		Oct	Nov	% Point Change	Oct	Nov	% Point Change
Economy	Getting Stronger	1%	7%	+6	4%	4%	0
	Staying Same	18%	17%	-1	19%	23%	+4
	Getting Weaker	81%	76%	-5	77%	73%	-4
Job Availability	More Jobs	5%	3%	-2	7%	6%	-1
	Same Amount	20%	29%	+9	22%	21%	-1
	Fewer Jobs	75%	68%	-7	71%	74%	+3
Ability to Find New Job	Confident	35%	46%	+11	41%	43%	+2
	Neutral	41%	31%	-10	36%	33%	-3
	Not Confident	25%	23%	-2	24%	25%	+1
Future of Current Employer	Confident	59%	70%	+11	65%	66%	+1
	Neutral	29%	19%	-10	23%	23%	0
	Not Confident	12%	11%	-1	13%	11%	-2
Likelihood to Lose Job	Likely	13%	14%	+1	14%	13%	-1
	Neutral	12%	10%	-2	11%	12%	+1
	Not Likely	74%	76%	+2	74%	75%	+1
Likelihood to Look for New Job	Likely	23%	27%	+4	31%	35%	+4
	Neutral	9%	15%	+6	12%	10%	-2
	Not Likely	67%	58%	-9	56%	55%	-1

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.

About the Spherion Employment Report

Methodology

About Harris Interactive

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 Office Professionals for specialty administrative personnel; and Spherion Recruitment Process Outsourcing. To learn more, visit www.spherion.com.