U.S. Employment Report: Employee Confidence Index on the Rise

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Jan. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The SFN Group Employee Confidence Index inched up 0.4 points to 51.1 in December. The Index, which measures workers' confidence in their personal employment situation and optimism in the economic environment, shows that more workers are confident in the strength of the economy and more are likely to make a job transition in the next 12 months.

"It is encouraging to see our Employee Confidence Index end the year on a positive, upward swing," says Roy Krause, CEO of SFN Group, Inc. "In step with the national economic situation, our Index has reflected a year of mixed sentiment and fluctuating levels of confidence among workers. However, the December Report reveals increased amounts of worker confidence, an indicator that perhaps the economic recovery is gaining traction and 2011 will see a return to healthier hiring activity. If and when that happens, we expect many workers to begin seeking new employment opportunities, with more than a third of workers already reporting the likelihood of job transition in the next 12 months."  

A Look Inside the Report:

Confidence in Overall Situation:

The SFN Group Employee Confidence Index inched up 0.4 points to 51.1 in December. The Index, which measures workers' confidence in their personal employment situation and optimism in the economic environment, shows that more workers are confident in the strength of the economy and more are likely to make a job transition in the next 12 months.

Confidence in Macroeconomic Environment:

• Twenty-five percent of U.S. workers believe the economy is getting stronger, an increase of three percentage points from November.
• Fifty-nine percent of workers believe there are fewer jobs available, showing no change from last month.

Confidence in Personal Employment Situation:

• Sixty percent of workers are confident in the future of their current employer, a decrease of two percentage points from November.
• The amount of workers confident in their ability to find a new job increased in December, with 43 percent reporting confidence. This is a rise of one percentage point from the previous month.

Job Security:

• Fewer workers believe that it is unlikely they will lose their jobs in the next 12 months. Specifically, 70 percent believe is it is unlikely versus 73 percent in November.

Job Transition:

• Thirty-six percent of workers are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months, representing an increase of four percentage points from the previous month.

Confidence by Gender:

• More men are confident in their ability to find a new job. Specifically, 50 percent of men reported confidence versus 35 percent of women.
• Women are less likely to believe that the economy is getting stronger, with 18 percent indicating so. On the other hand, 30 percent of men believe so.

Confidence by Age:

• Workers 55+ are the most likely to believe that there are fewer jobs available, with 69 percent believing so. This is the highest among all age brackets.
• Workers ages 18-34 are the most likely among all age brackets to indicate a likelihood of making a job transition in the next 12 months, with nearly half (49 percent) reporting a job change is likely.

Confidence by Income:

• Among all income levels, workers earning between $35-49.9K are the least confident in their ability to find a new job (31 percent) and the least confident in the future of their current employer (49 percent).
• Twenty-nine percent of workers earning $75K or greater report that they are likely to make a job transition in the next 12 months, the lowest percentage of workers among all income brackets.

Summary

December Full Results & ECI Index Archive

Methodology

About the SFN Group Employment Report

About Harris Interactive

About SFN Group, Inc.

SFN Group is a strategic workforce solutions company that provides professional services and general staffing to help businesses more effectively source, deploy and manage people and the work they do.  As an industry pioneer, SFN Group has sourced, screened and placed millions of individuals in temporary, temp-to-hire and full-time jobs for more than 60 years.

With approximately 550 locations in the United States and Canada, SFN delivers strategic workforce solutions that improve business performance.  From outsourcing to technology to professional services to staffing, SFN delivers the best combination of people, performance, and service to improve the way work gets done.  It provides its services to approximately 8,000 customers, from Fortune 500 companies to a wide range of small and mid-size organizations.  The company employs more than 160,000 people annually through its network and is one of North America's largest employers.  SFN provides its solutions through a family of specialized businesses:  Technisource, Tatum, The Mergis Group, Todays Office Professionals, SourceRight Solutions and Spherion Staffing Services.

To learn more, visit www.sfngroup.com.

SOURCE SFN Group, Inc.