The Spherion Employee Confidence Index registered at its highest level since December 2007, increasing 3.2 points to 49.9 in August. The Index, which measures workers' confidence in their personal employment situation and optimism in the economic environment, reveals that a higher percentage of U.S. workers are confident in the strength of the economy. Other key indices remained stable or showed slight increases from July's results.

"U.S. worker confidence appears to be gaining some momentum. In fact, our latest Index is at its highest level since our December 2007 report," said Roy Krause, President and CEO of Spherion Corporation. "Although the general economic situation seems to be getting a little better, we're still not out of the woods yet. We are finding that many employers have cut so deep into their staff that they are having a difficult time maintaining operational levels - which should indicate that additional hiring in on the horizon. However, it is still difficult to pinpoint an exact timeframe when we will begin to see a significant pick-up. As temporary employment is usually a leading indicator to the first signs of a recovery, many organizations and economists are watching these numbers in hopes that they turn positive in the next few months."

Confidence in Overall Situation:

The Spherion Employee Confidence Index registered at its highest level since December 2007, increasing 3.2 points to 49.9 in August. The Index, which measures workers' confidence in their personal employment situation and optimism in the economic environment, reveals that a higher percentage of U.S. workers are confident in the strength of the economy. Other key indices remained stable or showed slight increases from July's results.

Confidence in Macroeconomic Environment:

- Twenty-four percent of U.S. workers believe the economy is getting stronger, increasing eight percentage points from July.

- Sixty-nine percent of workers surveyed believe there are fewer jobs available, decreasing three percentage points from the previous month. Conversely, eight percent of U.S. adult workers surveyed believe there are more jobs available compared to six percent in July.

Confidence in Personal Employment Situation:

- The percentage of workers reporting confidence in the future of their current employers showed no change from the previous month (64 percent).

- Slightly more workers are confident in their ability to find a new job. Specifically, 40 percent compared to 39 percent registered in July.

Job Security:

- Fifteen percent of workers say it is likely they will lose their jobs in the next year, representing no change from July's reading.

Job Transition:

- Thirty-five percent of workers are likely to look for a new job in the next twelve months (versus 34 percent in July).

Confidence by Gender:

- In August, more men and women believe the economy is getting stronger. Specifically, 27 percent of men and 21 percent of female workers cited this (compared to 18 percent and 15 percent in July).

- Forty-three percent of men are confident in their ability to find a new job compared to 38 percent of females. Despite this difference, the percentage of women increased by four percentage points from July's report, while the percentage of men decreased by one percentage point in the same timeframe.

- According to the latest results, men are also more likely to look for a new position, with 38 percent indicating a likelihood to do so. This figure is five percentage points higher than the female response to this survey question and up from 36 percent reported in July.

Confidence by Age:

- Thirty-two percent of workers 55+ reported that they believe the economy is getting stronger. This is the highest amongst all age groups and a 14 percentage point increase from July.

- More than half (51 percent) of workers ages 18-34 reported that they are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months, the highest among all age groups surveyed and three percentage points higher than July's results for this age bracket.

- Seventy percent of workers 55 years and older are confident in the future of their current employer - the highest across all age groups.

Confidence by Income:

- With the exception of those workers earning less than $35K, the percentage of workers across all income brackets indicating that they believe the economy is getting stronger increased.

- Nearly half (45 percent) of workers earning less than $35K are likely to look for a new job in the next year. This is the highest reading across all income cohorts. At the same time, workers earning $75K are the only group to show an increase in those reporting they are likely to look for a new job from July's report.