Press Room

Press Release Archive

Texas Employment Report: Employee Confidence Index Reaches 2009 High

DALLAS, Texas, July 17, 2009 – The Texas Employee Confidence Index reached its highest point since September 2008, increasing 0.3 points to 54.1 in June, according to the latest Spherion^® Employment Report. The monthly survey of Texas workers, conducted by Harris Interactive^® on behalf of Spherion Corporation, reveals that although overall confidence ticked up slightly, more workers believe the economy is getting weaker and more workers are not confident in their ability to find a new job.

Results from the Texas Employment Report:

· Thirty-eight percent of workers believe the economy is getting weaker, showing an increase of six percentage points from May.

· Fifty-four percent of Texas workers are not confident in their ability to find a new job. Despite this, more workers are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months. Specifically, 36 percent of workers surveyed are likely to job search versus 32 percent in the previous month.

· Nearly 75 percent (74 percent) of workers are confident in the future of their current employer compared to 71 percent in May.

“Despite a marginal drop in our latest findings, it is a pleasant surprise to see the Employee Confidence Index reach a new high for 2009. The stagnant movement from May to June mirrors the sentiment we are hearing from employers and employees alike,” said Kim Lockhart, regional vice president for Spherion in Texas. “We continue to see our clients implement conservative hiring practices as the economic forecast remains difficult to predict. However, we are still seeing modest job opportunities in healthcare, energy, education, mortgage and banking, call center and government. We are encouraging job seekers to tailor their job search very specifically to the company they’re hoping to join. The cookie-cutter approach to finding a job will not work in today’s job market.”

June 2009 Employment Report Results		Texas Workers			U.S. Workers
		May	June	% Point Change	May	June	% Point Change
Economy	Getting Stronger	21%	23%	+2	20%	20%	0
	Staying Same	47%	39%	-8	42%	40%	-2
	Getting Weaker	32%	38%	+6	38%	40%	+2
Job Availability	More Jobs	8%	9%	+1	8%	7%	-1
	Same Amount	34%	29%	-5	21%	21%	0
	Fewer Jobs	58%	62%	+4	71%	72%	+1
Ability to Find New Job	Confident	50%	54%	+4	42%	42%	0
	Neutral	31%	26%	-5	34%	32%	-2
	Not Confident	20%	20%	0	24%	27%	+3
Future of Current Employer	Confident	71%	74%	+3	63%	66%	+3
	Neutral	21%	20%	-1	25%	23%	-2
	Not Confident	8%	6%	-2	13%	12%	-1
Likelihood to Lose Job	Likely	13%	13%	0	16%	16%	0
	Neutral	11%	15%	+4	13%	13%	0
	Not Likely	76%	71%	-5	71%	71%	0
Likelihood to Look for New Job	Likely	32%	36%	+4	34%	35%	+1
	Neutral	12%	15%	+3	12%	11%	-1
	Not Likely	56%	49%	-7	53%	54%	+1

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.