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Texas Employment Report: Employee Confidence Index Decreases 4.4 Points in February

DALLAS, Texas, March 26, 2009 – After rebounding last month, the Texas Employee Confidence Index decreased 4.4 points to 44.1 in February, according to the latest Spherion^® Employment Report. The monthly survey of Texas workers, conducted by Harris Interactive^® on behalf of Spherion Corporation, indicates that more workers believe fewer jobs are available and the percentage of workers that are confident in the future of their current employer decreased. Interestingly, more workers reported that they are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months.

Results from the Texas Employment Report:

Seventy-two percent of workers believe fewer jobs are available, increasing 11 percentage points from January.
Sixty-one percent of Texas workers are confident in the future of their employers, compared to 77 percent in the previous month.
More Texas workers are likely to look for a new job in the next year. Specifically, 34 percent versus 28 percent in January.

“Considering that the Texas unemployment rate in January reached a 19-year high, our latest Employee Confidence Index seems somewhat in line with economic indicators,” said Kim Lockhart, regional vice president for Spherion in Texas. “While the Texas state unemployment rate still remains more than one point lower than the U.S. rate, the situation is certainly difficult for job seekers. In fact, businesses are reporting record attendance for job fairs and we continue to see a large number of applicants for open positions. We remain in the center of a bad economic situation and weak job market, but are optimistic that the situation in Texas will rebound more quickly than the overall country.”

February 2009 Employment Report Results		Texas Workers			U.S. Workers
		Jan	Feb	% Point Change	Jan	Feb	% Point Change
Economy	Getting Stronger	7%	8%	+1	7%	6%	-1
	Staying Same	31%	27%	-4	26%	24%	-2
	Getting Weaker	62%	65%	+3	67%	70%	+3
Job Availability	More Jobs	3%	8%	+5	6%	5%	-1
	Same Amount	36%	20%	-16	18%	17%	-1
	Fewer Jobs	61%	72%	+11	76%	79%	+3
Ability to Find New Job	Confident	49%	44%	-5	42%	38%	-4
	Neutral	37%	34%	-3	33%	34%	+1
	Not Confident	14%	22%	+8	25%	27%	+2
Future of Current Employer	Confident	77%	61%	-16	67%	63%	-4
	Neutral	13%	29%	+16	22%	24%	+2
	Not Confident	11%	10%	-1	11%	14%	+3
Likelihood to Lose Job	Likely	9%	15%	+6	16%	17%	+1
	Neutral	7%	10%	+3	12%	12%	0
	Not Likely	84%	75%	-9	72%	71%	-1
Likelihood to Look for New Job	Likely	28%	34%	+6	34%	33%	-1
	Neutral	9%	13%	+4	12%	12%	0
	Not Likely	63%	53%	-10	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.