Finance and Accounting Employee Confidence Index Soars in Q2 as Macroeconomic Confidence Improves

BOSTON, Aug. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Confidence among U.S. finance and accounting workers hit a high in the second quarter of the year, spiking nearly 10 points from the previous quarter and reaching levels not seen since before the recession. The current index score is the highest since Q3 2007. According to The Mergis Group Finance and Accounting Employee Confidence Index, employee outlook among finance and accounting workers on job security, hovered 10 points above the national average.

Each quarter, The Mergis Group releases a quarterly Finance and Accounting Confidence Index, which is conducted online by Harris Interactive and measures overall confidence among U.S. finance and accounting workers. The study, which surveyed 173 U.S. finance and accounting workers (ages 18 and older) in April, May and June, 2013, also found that these workers' outlook on the economy is brightening. In fact, finance and accounting employees believe that the economy is getting stronger, rising 12 percentage points from the previous quarter, to 42 percent. The Index encompasses employee attitudes and sentiment around the economy, job market, job security, employers and in their ability to find a new job.

"We are seeing a lot of movement in the finance and accounting space, particularly in areas such as insurance underwriting and financial analysis," said Steve McMahan, President of Randstad Finance & Accounting, Randstad Human Resources, Accountants International and The Mergis Group. "We've also seen a major spike in transactional based accounting searches, technical accounting, domestic tax, and audit searches at the analyst, accountant, and manager levels."

Q2 2013 Survey Highlights:

Increasing Percentage of Finance and Accounting Workers Believe the Economy is Getting Stronger

• Forty-two percent of finance and accounting employees believe the economy is getting stronger, rising 12 percentage points from the first quarter of 2013. The number of finance and accounting workers who believe the economy is getting weaker took a steep, 16-percentage-point drop, from 32 percent in Q1 2013 to 16 percent in Q2.

More Finance and Accounting Workers Believe More Jobs are Available

• Nearly a third (31%) of finance and accounting employees believe more jobs are available, rising eleven percentage points from the previous quarter.  

Confidence in Ability to Find New Jobs Slips

• Forty-two percent of finance and accounting workers are confident in their ability to find a new job, slipping seven percentage points from the previous quarter. Although, the number of workers who say they are not confident that they could find a new job decreased by 11 percentage points, from 26 percent to 15 percent.

Workers Ambivalent About Job Search

• Nearly four in ten (38%) finance and accounting workers say they are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months, increasing just one percentage point from the previous quarter. More than half (56%) say they are not likely to job search, rising three percentage points from the previous quarter. 

To view the latest quarterly trends report, click here.

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of The Mergis Group from April 1-3, May 7-9, and June 4-6, 2013, among 3,626 adults 18 and older, of which 173 are employed in finance and accounting. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact [email protected].

About The Mergis Group
The Mergis Group is a leading professional placement firm that specializes in recruiting for positions in finance and accounting, manufacturing, sales and marketing, legal and human resources. The firm provides recruiting services to Fortune 500 and small and mid-sized companies through its network of 35 offices nationally.The Mergis Group is a now a part of Randstad. For more information, please visit www.mergisgroup.com.

About Randstad US
Randstad US is a wholly owned subsidiary of Randstad Holding nv, a $22.0 billion global provider of HR services. As the third largest staffing organization in the U.S., Randstad holds top positions in permanent placement, office and administrative, IT and accounting and finance. From professional services, commercial staffing, recruitment process outsourcing, to managed services and more, Randstad delivers a comprehensive range of temporary, temporary-to-hire, permanent placement and outsourced placement services. With its 5,660 employment experts, Randstad puts an average of nearly 100,000 people to work in the U.S. each week, through its network of more than 900 branches and client-dedicated locations.

Learn more at www.randstad.com and access Randstad's panoramic U.S. thought leadership knowledge center through its Workforce360 site that offers valuable insight into the latest economic indicators and HR trends shaping the world of work.

SOURCE The Mergis Group