Despite a rising tide of identity theft, employees say they are confident their employers protect their vital personal information from ID thieves. According to the recent "Getting Paid In America" survey, released by the American Payroll Association, 88 percent of respondents are confident their employers protect their vital personal information from identity theft and data breaches.

This survey statistic comes at a time when identity theft is at an all time high. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that as many as 9 million Americans are victims of ID theft each year.

The results from the 2007 "Getting Paid In America" survey show a strong confidence in the current methods used by employers to secure employee information such as social security numbers, wages and salaries, and bank account numbers.

"Payroll professionals are the guardians of employees' personal information in the workplace," said American Payroll Association Executive Director Dan Maddux. "The confidence shown by the American workforce in the 'Getting Paid In America' survey reflects the diligence payroll professionals exercise when it comes to sensitive employee information."

The online "Getting Paid In America" survey by the APA asked respondents "How confident are you that your employer adequately protects your vital personal information from data breaches/identity theft?" More than 41,500 of the 47,172 respondents indicated they were either confident or very confident that their employer adequately protects their personal information.

The "Getting Paid In America" survey was held in conjunction with APA's annual public awareness campaign, National Payroll Week (NPW), held annually the week of Labor Day. More than 47,000 employees responded to the survey, providing insight into how workers are paid in America.