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Ohio Employment Report: Employee Confidence Index Rises; Concerns About the Economy Subsiding From Previous Month

COLUMBUS, Ohio, September 18, 2009 — The Ohio Employee Confidence Index increased by 4.9 points to 47.2 in August, according to the latest Spherion^® Employment Report. The monthly survey conducted by Harris Interactive^® on behalf of Spherion Corporation (NYSE:SFN), indicates that fewer workers believe the economy is getting weaker, while more workers are confident about their ability to find a new job.

Results from the Ohio Employment Report:

Forty percent of workers believe the economy is getting weaker, a decrease of 16 percentage points from July.
More workers, 41 percent, are confident in their ability to find a new job, a six-percentage-point increase from the previous month.
Eighty-one percent of workers believe that fewer jobs are available, a slight increase of four percentage points from July.

“The rebound of our Employee Confidence Index from July to August can most likely be attributed to the economy seemingly stabilizing nationally and the continued signs that the recession may be ending,” said Robert Schulte, Spherion franchise owner in Ohio. “As indicated by our report, workers in Ohio seem encouraged by the positive economic signs and are feeling more confident in their ability to find a new job. This is certainly a step in the right direction in terms of being closer to a definitive economy recovery and could potentially be the precursor to the return of steady job creation.”

August 2009 Employment Report Results		Ohio Workers			U.S. Workers
		July	August	% Point Change	July	August	% Point Change
Economy	Getting Stronger	13%	21%	+8	16%	24%	+8
	Staying Same	31%	39%	+8	41%	42%	+1
	Getting Weaker	56%	40%	-16	43%	34%	-9
Job Availability	More Jobs	4%	3%	-1	6%	8%	+2
	Same Amount	19%	16%	-3	22%	24%	+2
	Fewer Jobs	77%	81%	+4	72%	69%	-3
Ability to Find New Job	Confident	35%	41%	+6	39%	40%	+1
	Neutral	28%	38%	+10	35%	35%	0
	Not Confident	36%	21%	-15	26%	25%	-1
Future of Current Employer	Confident	65%	67%	+2	64%	64%	0
	Neutral	25%	20%	-5	24%	25%	+1
	Not Confident	10%	13%	+3	11%	11%	0
Likelihood to Lose Job	Likely	15%	19%	+4	15%	15%	0
	Neutral	16%	10%	-6	14%	12%	-2
	Not Likely	70%	71%	+1	71%	73%	+2
Likelihood to Look for New Job	Likely	48%	41%	-7	34%	35%	+1
	Neutral	11%	8%	-3	13%	10%	-3
	Not Likely	41%	51%	+10	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.