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Florida Employment Report: Employee Confidence on the Decline in November

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., December 18, 2009 – The Florida Employee Confidence Index decreased 3.6 points to 43.5 in November, according to the latest Spherion^® Employment Report. The monthly survey of Florida workers, conducted by Harris Interactive^® on behalf of Spherion Corporation, shows that employee confidence has taken a hit, as more workers express concerns about job availability and in the overall health of the economy. Despite this, nearly three-fourths of Florida workers believe it is not likely they will lose their jobs in the next 12 months.

Results from the Florida Employment Report:

Fewer workers believe the economy is getting stronger. Specifically, 17 percent of workers believe the economy is getting stronger, a decrease of nine percentage points from October.
Eighty-one percent of workers believe there are fewer jobs available, representing a 10 percentage point increase from the previous month
Despite this, more workers believe it is not likely they will lose their jobs in the next 12 months, with nearly three-fourths (74 percent) indicating so. This is an increase of 11 percentage points from October.
Thirty-seven percent of workers indicate that it is likely they will make a job transition in the next 12 months versus 26 percent in the previous month.

"With more than one million Floridians unemployed and a state unemployment rate that exceeds the national figure, it is not surprising that Florida workers are feeling a bit pessimistic about the economy and job market," said Paula Franco, branch manager for Spherion Staffing Services in Florida. "Our latest Florida Employee Confidence Index paints this picture. However, it is encouraging to see that the majority of workers are expressing a sense of job security in their current positions. Despite this heightened sense of security, more than one-third of workers have revealed plans to look for a new job in the next 12 months, serving as a reminder to companies not to forego critical retention activities as the economy eases out of this downturn.”

November 2009 Employment Report Results		Florida Workers			U.S. Workers
		Oct	Nov	% Point Change	Oct	Nov	% Point Change
Economy	Getting Stronger	26%	17%	-9	23%	23%	0
	Staying Same	36%	39%	+3	41%	41%	0
	Getting Weaker	38%	44%	+6	35%	35%	0
Job Availability	More Jobs	8%	3%	-5	8%	9%	+1
	Same Amount	21%	15%	-6	22%	23%	+1
	Fewer Jobs	71%	81%	+10	70%	68%	-2
Ability to Find New Job	Confident	34%	32%	-2	38%	39%	+1
	Neutral	37%	43%	+6	34%	34%	0
	Not Confident	30%	25%	-5	28%	27%	-1
Future of Current Employer	Confident	63%	64%	+1	64%	65%	+1
	Neutral	22%	19%	-3	24%	22%	-2
	Not Confident	15%	17%	+2	12%	13%	+1
Likelihood to Lose Job	Likely	15%	11%	-4	14%	17%	+3
	Neutral	21%	15%	-6	15%	13%	-2
	Not Likely	63%	74%	+11	71%	70%	-1
Likelihood to Look for New Job	Likely	26%	37%	+11	32%	37%	+5
	Neutral	19%	14%	-5	13%	11%	-2
	Not Likely	55%	49%	-6	55%	51%	-4

About the Spherion Employment Report

Methodology

About Harris Interactive

About Spherion Staffing Services

Spherion Staffing Services is a leading recruiting and staffing provider that specializes in placing administrative, clerical, customer service and light industrial candidates in temporary and full-time opportunities. As an industry pioneer for more than 60 years, Spherion Staffing Services has sourced, screened and placed millions of individuals in a multitude of industries throughout our network of offices across the United States and Canada.

Spherion Staffing Services is a division of Spherion Corporation (NYSE:SFN), which operates a family of specialty brands providing strategic workplace solutions in professional recruiting, outsourcing, managed services and contractor compliance programs, technology services and general staffing. For more information, please visit www.spherion.com.