Employee Confidence Index Dips in July Aug 10, 2009

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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 Corp.

The 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.

Other Index findings include:

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, 6% of U.S. adult workers surveyed believe there are more jobs available, down one percentage point from the previous month.

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

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

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.

Despite a drop in overall confidence, 34% of workers are likely to look for a new job in the next twelve months (versus 35% in June).

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