Interestingly, workers' macroeconomic confidence experienced a slight uptick in September, yet fewer workers reported confidence in their ability to find a new job and 36 percent of workers reported that they are likely to look for new jobs over the next year.
"While this month's index does not reflect the full impact of the crisis on Wall Street, it is encouraging to note that in the early days of the financial turmoil, workers were generally confident about their personal job security," said Roy Krause, president and CEO of Spherion Corporation. "As we look ahead, it is important to remember that while the effects of the current financial situation will be far-reaching, sectors such as healthcare, education, legal services, energy and government are holding up fairly well. We are continuing to identify potential opportunities for displaced job seekers to parlay their skills from one industry to another and advising workers, such as realtors, mortgage specialists and financial services to think outside the box and be flexible to other career opportunities."
Results from the September Spherion Employment Report:
Employee Confidence Holds Steady: The Spherion Employee Confidence Index remained relatively unchanged with a 0.3 percentage point decrease to 47.3 percent in September. The Index, which measures workers' confidence in their personal employment situation and optimism in the macroeconomic environment, reveals that while workers' confidence in the future of their current employer decreased slightly by two percentage points to 63 percent, 12 percent of workers believe more jobs are available.
Details of the Index:
Macroeconomic Confidence:
- Eleven percent of workers believe the economy is getting stronger, increasing three percentage points from August.
- Twelve percent of U.S. adult workers believe there are more jobs available, an increase of one percentage point from the previous month.
Personal Confidence:
- Sixty-three percent of U.S. adult workers feel confident in the future of their current employer, a two percentage point decrease from August.
- The percentage of U.S. adult workers confident in their ability to find a new job decreased three percentage points from August to 48 percent.
Job Security: Just Over Three-quarters of Workers Say it is Unlikely They Will Lose Their Job
- Seventy-six percent of U.S. workers say it is unlikely they will lose their jobs in the next 12 months, unchanged since June.
Job Transition: Percentage of Workers Likely to Look for a New Job Drops Slightly
- Thirty-six percent of workers are likely to look for a new job in the next twelve months, a decrease of one percentage point from August.
