Press Room

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., August 7, 2009 –The Spherion Employee Confidence Index decreased 1.3 points to 46.7 in July. The Index, which measures workers’ confidence in their personal employment situation and optimism in the economic environment, reveals a drop in overall optimism as fewer workers believe the economy is getting stronger and the percentage of workers confident in their ability to find a new job declined.

“As month-over-month job losses and a historically high U.S. jobless rate continue to cast doubt on U.S. worker perceptions about the economy, a second consecutive drop in overall worker confidence is not surprising. Given that, our Index still remains higher than what it registered at one year ago and mirrors the trends reported in the latest Conference Board Consumer Confidence results,” said Roy Krause, president and CEO of Spherion Corporation. “Many economists are predicting that further contraction in jobs will continue as we head into 2010. We have, however, seen some early signs of economic stabilization in our own business and are investing accordingly. For example, we are increasing our investment in the recruitment process outsourcing space with the introduction of our new brand, SourceRight Solutions. With many companies having cut so deeply into their internal recruiting departments, our RPO business is seeing an increase in interest from employers looking to add staff in a recovery. One thing is certain:while a turnaround certainly won’t happen overnight, the economy will get better and we intend to be ready when that happens.”  

A Look Inside the Report:

Confidence in Overall Situation:

The Spherion Employee Confidence Index decreased 1.3 points to 46.7 in July. The Index, which measures workers’ confidence in their personal employment situation and optimism in the economic environment, reveals a drop in overall optimism as fewer workers believe the economy is getting stronger and the percentage of workers confident in their ability to find a new job declined.

Confidence in Macroeconomic Environment:

• Forty-three percent of workers believe the economy is getting weaker compared to 40 percent in the previous month. Sixteen percent of workers believe the economy is getting stronger, decreasing four percentage points from June.

• Seventy-two percent of workers surveyed believe there are fewer jobs available, showing no change from June. Conversely, six percent of U.S. adult workers surveyed believe there are more jobs available, down one percentage point from the previous month.

Confidence in Personal Employment Situation:  

• Slightly fewer workers reported confidence in the future of their current employers. Specifically, 64 percent versus 66 percent in June.

• Fewer workers are confident in their ability to find a new job. Specifically, 39 percent compared to 42 percent registered in June.

Job Security:

• Fifteen percent of workers say it is likely they will lose their jobs in the next year, decreasing only one percentage point from June’s reading. 

Job Transition: 

• Despite a drop in overall confidence, thirty-four percent of workers are likely to look for a new job in the next twelve months (versus 35 percent in June).

Confidence by Gender:

• In July, fewer men and women believe the economy is getting stronger. Consequently, more men and women reported that they believe the economy is getting weaker.
• Forty-four percent of men are confident in their ability to find a new job compared to 34 percent of females. Despite this difference, the percentage of women increased two percentage points from June’s report.
• According to the latest results, men are also more likely to look for a new position, with 36 percent indicating a likelihood to do so. This figure is four percentage points higher than the female response to this survey question and up from 35 percent in June.
  

Confidence by Age:

• Nearly half (47 percent) of workers between 45 and 54 years old reported that they believe the economy is getting weaker. This is the highest amongst all age groups and a seven percentage point increase from June.
• Nearly 40 percent of workers across all age groups are confident in their ability to find a new job
• Workers 45 and older showed the only increase from June on confidence in the future of their current employer. Seventy-one percent of workers 55 years and older reported optimism— the highest across all age groups.

Confidence by Income:

• With the exception of those workers earning less than $35K, the percentage of workers across all income brackets indicating that they believe the economy is getting stronger decreased.
• Nearly half (49 percent) of workers earning less than $35K are likely to look for a new job in the next year. This is the highest reading across all income cohorts. In fact, 22 percent of workers in this income bracket also believe they are likely to lose their job.
• Seventy percent of workers with incomes more than $75K are confident in the future of their current employer. This is the highest reading across all income brackets.

View full results for July and ECI Index Archive

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.