Administrative and Clerical Employee Confidence Highest of Year in Fourth Quarter
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More workers believe economy is stabilized or improving
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More workers confident in ability to find new jobs
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Slightly more workers intend to seek new positions this year
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., February 8, 2007 — The Administrative and Clerical Employee Confidence Index, a measure of workers’ confidence in the overall economy and their personal employment prospects, rose 1.8 points to 54.9 in the fourth quarter, according to the latest Spherion® Employment Report survey conducted by Harris Interactive® on behalf of Spherion Corporation. Compared to the fourth quarter a year ago, the Employee Confidence Index was up two points, representing a record high.
The percentage of workers who believe the economy is getting stronger or remains stable rose by ten percentage points. More than half of workers surveyed (52 percent) are confident of their ability to find new employment (up four percentage points from third quarter), and 65 percent are optimistic about their employers’ futures. In addition, more than one-third of workers (35 percent) are likely to seek new jobs this year compared to 32 percent the previous quarter.
“Confidence among administrative and clerical workers rebounded to close the year at a high—with the Employee Confidence Index up two points from a year ago. More than three-quarters of workers feel secure in their jobs and more than half are inclined to remain in them,” said Ralph Henderson, senior vice president of Staffing Services for Spherion. “There’s a general sense that the economy is healthy, with unemployment down and wages up. In our recruiting and staffing business, we saw continued demand for administrative professionals, as well as inbound customer service and outbound call center staff in the fourth quarter.”
Employee Confidence Index: The Administrative and Clerical Employee Confidence Index rose two points in the fourth quarter to close 2006 at a high as more workers expressed optimism in the strength of the economy (up ten percentage points) and confidence in their ability to find new employment (up four points). This sector lags the overall U.S. Index by almost five points.
|
Admin. & Clerical Workers |
U.S. Workers |
|
3Q 2006 |
4Q 2006 |
% Point
Change |
3Q 2006 |
4Q 2006 |
% Point
Change |
| Economy |
Getting Stronger |
15% |
17% |
+2 |
20% |
25% |
+5 |
| Staying Same |
36% |
44% |
+8 |
36% |
40% |
+4 |
| Getting Weaker |
50% |
39% |
-11 |
44% |
36% |
-8 |
| Job Availability |
More Jobs |
17% |
17% |
0 |
25% |
27% |
+2 |
| Same Amount |
38% |
41% |
+3 |
36% |
37% |
+1 |
| Fewer Jobs |
45% |
42% |
-3 |
39% |
36% |
-3 |
| Ability to Find New Job |
Confident |
48% |
52% |
+4 |
58% |
59% |
+1 |
| Neutral |
37% |
30% |
-7 |
28% |
26% |
-2 |
| Not Confident |
14% |
18% |
+4 |
14% |
14% |
0 |
| Future of Current Employer |
Confident |
67% |
65% |
-2 |
64% |
65% |
+1 |
| Neutral |
21% |
22% |
+1 |
24% |
23% |
-1 |
| Not Confident |
12% |
13% |
+1 |
12% |
13% |
+1 |
| Likelihood to Lose Job |
Likely |
10% |
13% |
+3 |
11% |
11% |
0 |
| Neutral |
9% |
11% |
+2 |
10% |
10% |
0 |
| Not Likely |
81% |
76% |
-5 |
79% |
79% |
0 |
| Likelihood to Look for New Job |
Likely |
32% |
35% |
+3 |
35% |
36% |
+1 |
| Neutral |
9% |
10% |
+1 |
10% |
10% |
0 |
| Not Likely |
59% |
55% |
+4 |
54% |
53% |
-1 |
About the Spherion Employment Report
As part of the Spherion Emerging Workforce® series of employment surveys,this quarterly Spherion Employment Report provides a snapshot of the latest workforce trends among administrative and clerical workers across the country. Three key indices are measured: the Spherion Job Security Index, which captures how likely respondents think it is that they will lose their job or that their job will be eliminated in the next 12 months; the Spherion Job Transition Index, which captures how likely respondents are to look for a new job in the next 12 months and the Employee Confidence Index that measures employees’ overall confidence in the economy, their employer and their ability to find other employment. The Employee Confidence Index is calculated from the results of four components that reflect these aspects of employee confidence. For each component item a ‘score’ is calculated by taking the difference of the percentage of positive responses and the percentage of negative responses. These four scores are then averaged to indicate an overall level of employee confidence and is scaled from 0 (no confidence) to 100 (complete confidence). A reading above 50 indicates a positive confidence level.
Methodology
The Spherion Employment Report for the fourth quarter of 2006 is based on data from a Harris Interactive online survey conducted on behalf of Spherion Corporation. A U.S. sample of 10,693 employed adults, aged 18 years and older, of whom 1,007 work in administrative and clerical positions, was interviewed in a series of polls conducted between October 3-5, October 9-11, November 7-9, November 15-17, December 6-8, and December 11-13, 2006. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, income, education and region were weighted where necessary to bring them in line with actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting adjusted for respondents’ propensity to be online.
With a pure probability sample of 10,693 adults one could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the overall results would have a sampling error of +/- one percentage point. Sampling error for the results of employed adults who work in administrative and clerical positions (n=1,007) would be +/- three percentage points. However that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
About Spherion
Spherion Corporation (NYSE:SFN) 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 60 years, Spherion has screened and placed millions of individuals in temporary, temp-to-hire and full-time jobs. Positions range from administrative and light industrial to a host of professions that include accounting/finance, information technology, engineering, manufacturing, legal, human resources and sales/marketing.
With approximately 650 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 375,000 people annually through its network, Spherion is one of North America’s largest employers. To learn more, visit www.spherion.com. For up-to-date career tips and trends, visit Spherion’s career blog, The Big TimeSM, at www.spherion.com/careerblog.
About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is the 12th largest and fastest-growing market research firm in the world. The company provides research-driven insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what could conceivably be the world’s largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States, Europe and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiary Novatris in France and through a global network of independent market research firms. The service bureau, HISB, provides its market research industry clients with mixed-mode data collection, panel development services as well as syndicated and tracking research consultation. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at www.harrisinteractive.com.
To become a member of the Harris Poll Online and be invited to participate in online surveys, register at http://go.hpolsurveys.com/PR.
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