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Florida Employment Report: Employee Confidence Index Rises

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., April 17, 2009 – Despite the state’s rising unemployment rate, the Florida Employee Confidence Index increased 3.5 points to 39.0 in March, according to the latest Spherion^® Employment Report. The monthly survey of Florida workers, conducted by Harris Interactive^® on behalf of Spherion Corporation, reveals that more workers have confidence in the future of their current employers and in their ability to find a new job.

Results from the Florida Employment Report:

The percentage of workers that are confident in the future of their employer increased by 14 percentage points to 67 percent in March.
Thirty-two percent of Florida workers are confident in their ability to find a new job, rising seven percentage points from February.
More workers believe that they are likely to lose their job in the next 12 months. Specifically, 26 percent indicated that they feel their job is in jeopardy compared to 21 percent in the previous month.

“As the first quarter of 2009 closes, our latest report indicates that overall confidence took a positive turn in March,” said Paula Franco, branch manager for Spherion Staffing Services in Florida. “For the last two months we have been seeing a downturn in overall confidence, so the latest Index is welcoming. It should be noted, though, I would expect overall confidence to fluctuate in coming months as economic reports announce conflicting news. Although we have recently seen some positive data released around the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index, the closer joblessness comes to reaching double digits, the more workers will have concerns about their personal employment situation.”

March 2009 Employment Report Results		Florida Workers			U.S. Workers
		Feb	Mar	% Point Change	Feb	Mar	% Point Change
Economy	Getting Stronger	5%	7%	+2	6%	6%	0
	Staying Same	19%	22%	+3	24%	26%	+2
	Getting Weaker	76%	72%	-4	70%	68%	-2
Job Availability	More Jobs	3%	3%	0	5%	5%	0
	Same Amount	16%	12%	-4	17%	16%	-1
	Fewer Jobs	81%	84%	+3	79%	78%	-1
Ability to Find New Job	Confident	25%	32%	+7	38%	39%	+1
	Neutral	47%	39%	-8	34%	35%	+1
	Not Confident	27%	29%	+2	27%	26%	-1
Future of Current Employer	Confident	53%	67%	+14	63%	66%	+3
	Neutral	29%	21%	-8	24%	22%	-2
	Not Confident	18%	12%	-6	14%	13%	-1
Likelihood to Lose Job	Likely	21%	26%	+5	17%	18%	+1
	Neutral	17%	10%	-7	12%	14%	+2
	Not Likely	62%	64%	+2	71%	68%	-3
Likelihood to Look for New Job	Likely	38%	32%	-6	33%	36%	+3
	Neutral	7%	9%	+2	12%	13%	+1
	Not Likely	55%	59%	+4	56%	51%	-5

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.