Press Room

Press Release Archive

New York Employment Report: For the First Time in Over a Year, Employee Confidence Index Increases For Two Consecutive Months

NEW YORK, N.Y., May 21, 2009 –The New York Employee Confidence Index increased 1.4 points to 43.0 in April, according to the latest Spherion^® Employment Report. The monthly survey of New York workers, conducted by Harris Interactive^® on behalf of Spherion Corporation, indicates that fewer workers believe the economy is getting weaker, however, fewer workers are confident in their ability to find a new job.

Results from the New York Employment Report:

Forty-six percent of workers surveyed believe that the economy is getting weaker, a decrease of 26 percentage points from March.
Fewer workers, 36 percent, report that they are confident in their ability to find a new job, an 11-percentage-point decrease from the previous month.
Two-thirds of workers (66 percent) are concerned about losing their job, a decrease of eight percentage points from March.

“It is very encouraging to see that workers’ overall confidence continues to increase, despite the fact that job losses are still mounting, not only in New York but across the nation,” said Linda Perneau, vice president and general manager of Spherion Staffing Services. “As the stock market continues to recover and companies are showing signs of stabilization, it seems that workers are becoming less concerned about the overall employment situation. Obviously, the main priority now is seeing a pick-up in hiring, which according to some media reports, may not be far off.”

April 2009 Employment Report Results		New York Workers			U.S. Workers
		Mar	Apr	% Point Change	Mar	Apr	% Point Change
Economy	Getting Stronger	9%	17%	+8	6%	16%	+10
	Staying Same	19%	37%	+18	26%	38%	+12
	Getting Weaker	72%	46%	-26	68%	46%	-22
Job Availability	More Jobs	6%	-	-6	5%	5%	0
	Same Amount	13%	16%	+3	16%	20%	+4
	Fewer Jobs	81%	84%	+3	78%	75%	-3
Ability to Find New Job	Confident	47%	36%	-11	39%	38%	-1
	Neutral	29%	38%	+9	35%	35%	0
	Not Confident	24%	26%	+2	26%	26%	0
Future of Current Employer	Confident	62%	62%	0	66%	65%	-1
	Neutral	24%	21%	-3	22%	22%	0
	Not Confident	14%	17%	+3	13%	13%	0
Likelihood to Lose Job	Likely	17%	15%	-2	18%	18%	0
	Neutral	8%	19%	+11	14%	12%	-2
	Not Likely	74%	66%	-8	68%	70%	+2
Likelihood to Look for New Job	Likely	36%	31%	-5	36%	34%	-2
	Neutral	10%	14%	+4	13%	12%	-1
	Not Likely	54%	55%	+1	51%	54%	+3

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 630 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 215,000 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.