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Ohio Employment Report: Confidence Index Decreases On Growing Concerns About Strength of Economy, Job Availability

COLUMBUS, Ohio, August 21, 2009 — The Ohio Employee Confidence Index decreased by 3.3 points to 42.3 in July, according to the latest Spherion^® Employment Report. The monthly survey conducted by Harris Interactive^® on behalf of Spherion Corporation (NYSE:SFN), reveals that, for the second consecutive month, there has been an increase in the proportion of workers who are concerned about the strength of the economy, as well as an increase in the proportion who lack confidence in finding a new job.

Results from the Ohio Employment Report:

Fifty-six percent of workers believe the economy is getting weaker, an increase of 12 percentage points from June.
Thirty-six percent of workers lack confidence in their ability to find a new job, a 15-percentage-point increase from the previous month.
Nearly half of workers (48 percent) say that they are likely to look for a new job, an increase of 18 percentage points from June.

“We experienced a hiccup in July’s report after an upward trend throughout the summer, mostly due to the national economic fluctuations which was compounded by further job losses in the state,” said Robert Schulte, Spherion franchise owner in Ohio. “Our report indicates that, while workers’ fears are focused on the strength of the economy and finding a job, an increased number of workers are likely to look for a new job in the next year, possibly signaling that there is still some optimism around the job search.”

July 2009 Employment Report Results		California Workers			U.S. Workers
		June	July	% Point Change	June	July	% Point Change
Economy	Getting Stronger	16%	13%	-3	20%	16%	-4
	Staying Same	40%	31%	-9	40%	41%	+1
	Getting Weaker	44%	56%	+12	40%	43%	+3
Job Availability	More Jobs	5%	4%	+1	7%	6%	-1
	Same Amount	12%	19%	+7	21%	22%	+1
	Fewer Jobs	82%	77%	-5	72%	72%	0
Ability to Find New Job	Confident	41%	35%	-6	42%	39%	-3
	Neutral	37%	28%	-9	32%	35%	+3
	Not Confident	21%	36%	+15	27%	26%	-1
Future of Current Employer	Confident	62%	65%	+3	66%	64%	-2
	Neutral	25%	25%	0	23%	24%	+1
	Not Confident	13%	10%	-3	12%	11%	-1
Likelihood to Lose Job	Likely	18%	15%	-3	16%	15%	-1
	Neutral	14%	16%	+2	13%	14%	-1
	Not Likely	68%	70%	+2	71%	71%	0
Likelihood to Look for New Job	Likely	30%	48%	+18	35%	34%	-1
	Neutral	15%	11%	-4	11%	13%	+2
	Not Likely	55%	41%	-14	54%	52%	-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 600 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.