Ohio workers' confidence dips slightly in February

The Ohio Employee Confidence Index decreased 1.1 points to 47.7 in February, according to the Spherion(R) Employment Report. The monthly survey conducted by Harris Interactive(R) on behalf of Spherion Corporation, indicates that while more workers feel confident in the future of their current employer, fewer are optimistic about job availability.

  Results from the Ohio Employment Report:

– Fewer workers (61 percent) believe the economy is getting weaker, a

     decrease of six percentage points from January.

– Three-fourths (74 percent) of workers are confident in the future of

     their current employer, up 11 percentage points from the previous

     month.

– Ninety-five percent of workers believe that it is not likely they will

     lose their jobs in the next 12 months, an increase of 15 percentage

     points from January.

"While February's dip in confidence isn't completely unexpected given the current economic uncertainty, we did not anticipate such a significant rebound in workers' confidence in their job security," said Robert Schulte, Spherion franchise owner in Ohio. "While the February Confidence Index shows another decline, the vast majority of Ohio workers are confident in the future of their current employers and believe it is not likely they will lose their jobs in the next 12 months. Since a large percentage of the workforce is not currently looking to make a job transition, employers facing labor shortages must offer innovative benefits such as work/life balance, flexible schedules and unique benefits to motivate these workers to change jobs."

About Spherion

Spherion Corporation is a leading recruiting and staffing company that provides integrated solutions to meet the evolving needs of companies and job candidates. As an industry pioneer for more than 60 years, Spherion has sourced, screened and placed millions of individuals in temporary, temp-to- hire and full-time jobs.

With approximately 700 locations in the United States and Canada, Spherion delivers innovative workforce solutions that improve business performance. Spherion provides its services to more than 8,000 customers, from Fortune 500 companies to a wide range of small and mid-size organizations. Employing more than 300,000 people annually through its network, Spherion is one of North America's largest employers. Spherion operates under the following brands: Spherion Staffing Services Group for administrative, clerical and light industrial workers; Technisource for technology professionals and solutions; The Mergis Group for accounting and finance and other professional positions; Todays Staffing for specialty administrative personnel; and Spherion Recruitment Process Outsourcing. To learn more, visit www.spherion.com.