Employee Confidence Index up slightly

The SFN Group Employee Confidence Index edged up 0.5 points to 48.7 in September, it was announced on October 8. The index, which measures workers' confidence in their personal employment situation and optimism in the economic environment, reveals that the same amount of workers are optimistic in the number of jobs available, despite a slight dip in the percentage believing the economy is getting stronger. At the same time, 35 percent of workers reported that they are likely to look for a new job.

"Our latest Employee Confidence Index shows nominal movement," said Roy Krause, president and CEO of SFN Group Inc. "Despite continued economic uncertainty, there is some good news to report. Temporary help services, a leading indicator of future growth in the overall job market, showed year-to-year performance up 23.4 percent from September 2009. Although many employers are riding the current economic situation out, we are seeing broad project-based hiring activity in accounting, finance, technology and manufacturing, as well as in administrative and clerical. Moreover, according to our latest report, workers seem to be very open to considering a job change. The reality is, once the economy pulls itself out of this, companies will need top talent to create and sustain growth. Not engaging and retaining talent may severely hamper their ability to compete now and when the economy makes a full recovery."

A Look Inside the Report:

Confidence in Overall Situation:

The SFN Group Employee Confidence Index edged up 0.5 points to 48.7 in September. The index, which measures workers' confidence in their personal employment situation and optimism in the economic environment, reveals that the same amount of workers are optimistic in the number of jobs available, despite a slight dip in the percentage believing the economy is getting stronger. At the same time, 35 percent of workers reported that they are likely to look for a new job.

Confidence in Macroeconomic Environment:

• Nineteen percent of U.S. workers believe the economy is getting stronger, a decrease of two percentage points from August.
• Ten percent of workers believe there are more jobs available. At the same time, 58 percent of workers believe there are fewer jobs available, as compared to 64 percent the prior month.

Confidence in Personal Employment Situation:

• Sixty-one percent of workers are confident in the future of their current employer, showing no change from August.
• Thirty-nine percent of workers are confident in their ability to find a new job, decreasing one percentage point from the previous month.

Job Security:

• Seventy percent of workers believe that it is unlikely they will lose their jobs in the next 12 months, showing a decrease of two percentage points from August.
   

Job Transition:

• More workers are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months. Specifically, 35 percent in September versus 33 percent in August.
   

Confidence by Gender:

• In September, 40 percent of both men and women believe the economy is getting weaker (vs. 41 percent for both men and women in August).
• Women reported more confidence in future of their current employer. Specifically, 64 percent of women are optimistic compared to 57 percent of men.
   

Confidence by Age:

• Workers ages 55+ had the least macroeconomic confidence among all age brackets, with 49 percent believing the economy is getting weaker and 66 percent indicating that fewer jobs are available.
• Despite having the lowest macroeconomic confidence, workers ages 55+ were the most confident in the future of their current employer, with 69 percent indicating so.
• Workers ages 18-34 years old are the most likely among all age brackets to indicate a likelihood of making a job transition in the next 12 months, with 46 percent reporting a job change is likely (compared to 20 percent of workers age 55+ and 28 percent between the ages of 45-54 years old).
   

Confidence by Income:

• Workers earning $75K or greater were the most confident in the future of their current employer, with 70 percent reporting confidence. On the contrary, workers earning $35K or less were the least confident in the future of their current employer (50 percent).
• Workers earning less than $35K are the most likely to make a job transition in the next 12 months, with 44 percent illustrating so.