U.S. Employment Report: Employee Confidence Index Slips in February

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The SFN Group Employee Confidence Index decreased by 1.2 points to 48.9 in February. The Index, which measures workers' confidence in their personal employment situation and optimism in the economic environment, shows that fewer workers are confident in the strength of the economy and in job availability. On the contrary, more workers are optimistic about their job security and the future of their current employer.

"Although our report shows a decline in overall confidence from the previous month, it is still 6.2 points higher than the low point of 40.1 it registered at one year ago," said Roy Krause, president and CEO of SFN Group, Inc. "In fact, hiring demand is better now than what we experienced a few months ago. We are seeing the demand for temporary work starting to pick-up — generally a sign that full-time hiring is on the horizon. From an employer and candidate perspective, I see this flexible segment becoming a greater percentage of the total workforce as we move forward in a recovery. Many employers continue to be hesitant to add staff on a full-time basis due to the uncertainty of the market. Additionally, the idea of working on different projects seems to be an appealing option for not only younger job seekers, but also all types of professional workers and Baby Boomers. As we talk to more and more candidates, we are finding that more people are looking for greater flexibility, stronger engagement, additional income and/or the opportunity to stay on top of the latest technology trends."

A Look Inside the Report:

Confidence in Overall Situation:

The SFN Group Employee Confidence Index decreased by 1.2 points to 48.9 in February. The Index, which measures workers' confidence in their personal employment situation and optimism in the economic environment, shows that fewer workers are confident in the strength of the economy and in job availability. On the contrary, more workers are optimistic about their job security and the future of their current employer.

Confidence in Macroeconomic Environment:

• Twenty-three percent of U.S. workers believe the economy is getting stronger, down five percentage points from January.

• Sixty-seven percent of workers surveyed believe there are fewer jobs available, jumping five points from the previous month.

Confidence in Personal Employment Situation:  

• The number of workers confident in their ability to find a new job decreased by one percentage point to 38 percent in February.

The percentage of workers reporting confidence in the future of their current employers increased by three percentage points to 64 percent,

Job Security:

• Seventy percent of workers say they are unlikely to lose their jobs in the next year, increasing three percentage points from the previous month.

Job Transition: 

• Thirty-five percent of workers are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months, representing an increase of two percentage points from last month's reading.

Confidence by Gender:

• In February, more men than women believe the economy is getting stronger. Specifically, 27 percent of men and 18 percent of female workers cited this.

• More males than females cited that they are confident in their ability to find a new job, with 45 percent of men and 30 percent of women reporting confidence.

• More women than men reported that they are likely to job search in the next 12 months. In February, 35 percent of women and 34 percent of men reported the likelihood to job search.

Confidence by Age:

• Workers ages 18-24 are the most likely to believe the economy is getting stronger, with 27 percent of workers in this age group believing so.

• According to the latest results, 74 percent of workers ages 45-54 believe there are fewer jobs available, the highest among all age brackets in February.  

• Forty-nine percent of workers between the ages of 18-34 report that they are likely to look for a new job in the next year. This is the highest reading for all age brackets. On the contrary, only 21 percent of workers 55+ are likely to make a job transition in the next 12 months.

Confidence by Income:

• Workers earning $75K or greater are the most likely to believe the economy is getting stronger, with 27 percent indicating they believe so compared to 17 percent of those earning less than $35K.

• Workers earning less than $35K are the least confident in the future of their current employer, with 54 percent expressing confidence; while workers earning $75K or more are the most optimistic with 71 percent reporting confidence.

• Forty-two 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.

About the SFN Group Employment Report

Methodology                            

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 nearly 600 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