Press Room

Press Release Archive

California Employment Report: Employee Confidence Index Drops 4.4 Points in February

LOS ANGELES, Calif., March 20, 2009 – The California Employee Confidence Index dropped 4.4 points to 38.8 in February, according to the latest Spherion^® Employment Report. The monthly survey of California workers, conducted by Harris Interactive^® on behalf of Spherion Corporation (NYSE:SFN), reveals that fewer workers have confidence in their ability to find a new job and in the future of their current employers.

Results from the California Employment Report:

Thirty-eight percent of workers are confident in their ability to find a new job, down eight percentage points from January.
Three-fourths (75 percent) of workers believe the economy is getting weaker, representing an increase of seven percentage points from the previous month.
Sixty-three percent of workers expressed confidence in the future of their current employers, representing a decline of seven percentage points from January.

“Despite the positive gains made by the Index in the first month of the year, we now see that the Index took a turn in the opposite direction in February. Although many California workers are likely hopeful about what impact the recently passed stimulus bill might have on their own personal situations, it is clear they still remain cautiously aware of the continuing job losses being reported on a national and state level,” explained Beth Noseworthy, region vice president for Spherion. “When you couple workers’ widespread economic concerns and a state budget crisis, the results of our most recent Report are not surprising. However, nearly two-thirds of workers are confident in the future of their current employers. Employers that motivate employees and communicate plans to survive the down economy can increase loyalty and be in a better position when the economy turns around.”

February 2009 Employment Report Results		California Workers			U.S. Workers
		Jan	Feb	% Point Change	Jan	Feb	% Point Change
Economy	Getting Stronger	5%	4%	-1	7%	6%	-1
	Staying Same	28%	22%	-6	26%	24%	-2
	Getting Weaker	68%	75%	+7	67%	70%	+3
Job Availability	More Jobs	4%	2%	-2	6%	5%	-1
	Same Amount	18%	17%	-1	18%	17%	-1
	Fewer Jobs	78%	82%	+4	76%	79%	+3
Ability to Find New Job	Confident	46%	38%	-8	42%	38%	-4
	Neutral	29%	36%	+7	33%	34%	+1
	Not Confident	25%	26%	+1	25%	27%	+2
Future of Current Employer	Confident	70%	63%	-7	67%	63%	-4
	Neutral	22%	25%	+3	22%	24%	+2
	Not Confident	9%	12%	+3	11%	14%	+3
Likelihood to Lose Job	Likely	13%	14%	+1	16%	17%	+1
	Neutral	12%	15%	+3	12%	12%	0
	Not Likely	75%	71%	-4	72%	71%	-1
Likelihood to Look for New Job	Likely	34%	28%	-6	34%	33%	-1
	Neutral	13%	13%	0	12%	12%	0
	Not Likely	53%	59%	+6	54%	56%	+2

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 and breakout specialties 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 650 locations in the United States and Canada, Spherion delivers innovative workforce solutions that improve business performance. Spherion provides its services to approximately 10,000 customers, from Fortune 500 companies to a wide range of small and mid-size organizations. Employing more than 230,000 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.