Randstad Survey: U.S. Worker Confidence Index Paints Rosy Picture Heading Into 2013

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Jan 03, 2013, 12:38 ET

NEW YORK, Jan. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Randstad Employee Confidence Index increased 3.7 points in December to 55.4, ending the year with one of the highest levels of optimism recorded over the last 12 months. The last time the Index scored 55 or above was in March 2012 when it reached 55.5. Randstad's Index, which measures employee insights on jobs, the economy, and their personal employment situation, found more workers believe the economy is not only getting stronger, but there are also more jobs available. This month, a greater number of employed adults also indicated they could land a new job in the next 12 months.

"Our latest report is certainly a positive sign and a nice way to end a year that many classify as being a mixed bag," said Randstad US managing director of human resources Jim Link. "When you compare this month over December 2011's reading, we are looking at a significant eight point increase. As various economic events occurred around us, such as the presidential election, economic conditions abroad, and severe weather events, workers remained surprisingly confident throughout it all—with our Index falling only once under the 50.0 confidence threshold. Even in the midst of fiscal cliff negotiations, employees believe employers' businesses are stabilizing and more jobs will become available in 2013. We anticipate businesses' desire for a more variable workforce to increase heading into next year, and workers' desire to 'work smarter' and carve out their own career paths to increase. The most forward-looking employers are using this time to re-evaluate what motivates and retains their top performers before it's too late."

Look Inside the Report:

Employee Confidence Increases in December

The Randstad Employee Confidence Index increased 3.7 points to 55.4 in December—the second highest reading all year

U.S. Workers More Optimistic Around Economic Future, Jobs

In the last month of the year, 31 percent of employees indicated the economy is getting stronger, one of the highest readings all year
More employees, 23 percent, believe there are more jobs available (compared to 20 percent in November)

Employees Remain Secure in their Jobs, Confident in the Future of their Companies

Employees continue to report high levels of confidence when it comes to their own job security, with 72 percent reporting they feel secure
Building on this stability, a majority of workers (59 percent) remain confident in the future of their current employers

A Third of Workers Plan to Transition to a New Job in the New Year

Thirty-four percent of employees indicated they plan to transition to a new job in 2013, down two percentage points from November 2012
Forty-nine percent of workers are confident in their ability to find a new job, a year high reading for 2012

The Randstad U.S. Employee Confidence Index measures workforce trends across the country since 2004.

Additional Insight

Methodology

This December 2012 Randstad Employment Tracker was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Randstad between December 10-12, 2012 among a U.S. sample of 1,762 employed adults, aged 18 years and older. Results were weighted as needed for age, sex, race/ethnicity, income, education, and region. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the U.S. adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to be invited to participate in the Harris Interactive online research panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

About Randstad
Randstad is a $22.5 billion global provider of HR services and the second largest staffing organization in the world. From temporary staffing to permanent placement to inhouse, professionals, search & selection, and HR Solutions, Randstad holds top positions around the world and has approximately 28,700 corporate employees working from its nearly 4,700 branches and inhouse locations in 40 countries. Founded in 1960 and headquartered in Diemen, the Netherlands, Randstad Holding nv is listed on the NYSE Euronext Amsterdam.

Learn more at http://www.randstad.com.

SOURCE Randstad