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California Employment Report: Employee Confidence Index Up 6.2 Points in August

LOS ANGELES, Calif., September 18, 2009 –The California Employee Confidence Index jumped 6.2 points to 48.1 in August, according to the latest Spherion^® Employment Report. The monthly survey of California workers, conducted by Harris Interactive^® on behalf of Spherion Corporation (NYSE:SFN), highlights an increase in overall confidence as more workers feel confident about the future of their current employer and report higher levels of job security. Despite this increase, more workers reported that they are unlikely to look for a new job in the next 12 months.

Results from the California Employment Report:

Sixty-seven percent of workers believe it is not likely they will lose their jobs, an increase of 11 percentage points from July.
More than half (51 percent) of workers believe it is not likely they will look for a new job in the next 12 months, an increase of 14 percentage points from the previous month.
More workers are confident in the future of their current employer. Specifically 62 percent versus 48 percent in July.

“It is encouraging to see the surge in this month’s California Employee Confidence Index,” explained Brian Veverka, senior branch manager for Spherion. “We are continuing to see hiring opportunities at companies that scaled back their personnel too deep and are now reaching their organizational productivity threshold. These jobs are in industries such as mortgage, real estate and healthcare, to name a few. As we approach holiday season, we are also beginning to hear discussion of a seasonal ramp-up in many organizations. While all of these are glimmers of hope, we must remain cautious as the economy has yet to definitively stabilize.”

August 2009 Employment Report Results		California Workers			U.S. Workers
		July	August	% Point Change	July	August	% Point Change
Economy	Getting Stronger	16%	19%	+3	16%	24%	+8
	Staying Same	40%	38%	-2	41%	42%	+1
	Getting Weaker	44%	42%	-2	43%	34%	-9
Job Availability	More Jobs	7%	8%	+1	6%	8%	+2
	Same Amount	20%	27%	+7	22%	24%	+2
	Fewer Jobs	72%	65%	-7	72%	69%	-3
Ability to Find New Job	Confident	33%	35%	+2	39%	40%	+1
	Neutral	36%	41%	+5	35%	35%	0
	Not Confident	32%	24%	-8	26%	25%	-1
Future of Current Employer	Confident	48%	62%	+14	64%	64%	0
	Neutral	32%	30%	-2	24%	25%	+1
	Not Confident	20%	8%	-12	11%	11%	0
Likelihood to Lose Job	Likely	28%	20%	-8	15%	15%	0
	Neutral	16%	13%	-3	14%	12%	-2
	Not Likely	56%	67%	+11	71%	73%	+2
Likelihood to Look for New Job	Likely	52%	43%	-9	34%	35%	+1
	Neutral	12%	6%	-6	13%	10%	-3
	Not Likely	37%	51%	+14	52%	54%	+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 SourceRight Solutions for recruitment process outsourcing. To learn more, visit www.spherion.com.