Overall Confidence Declines among Industrial, Manufacturing & Construction Workers

• More workers believe fewer jobs are available
• Worker confidence in employer’s future down slightly
• Fewer workers likely to change jobs in 2007

FORT LAUDERDALE Fla., February 8, 2007 — The Employee Confidence Index for U.S. workers in the industrial, manufacturing and construction industries declined 1.7 points to 53.0 in the fourth quarter of 2006, according to the latest Spherion^® Employment Report survey conducted by Harris Interactive^® on behalf of Spherion Corporation. The decline is in contrast to the U.S. Employee Confidence Index, which rose 2.3 points in the same period.

More workers believe that fewer jobs are available (45 percent) as compared to third quarter (40 percent) and fewer have confidence in the future of their current employer (22 percent vs. 16 percent). Slightly more than half (52 percent) remain confident in their ability to find new jobs, although that figure is down three percentage points from previous quarter. One optimistic offset is an increase in the percentage of workers who believe the economy is stable, up four percentage points in the fourth quarter (to 39 percent from 35 percent). In addition, 33 percent of workers are likely to look for a new job this year, down from 40 percent in the third quarter. (A recent Spherion Workplace Snapshot survey revealed that 21 percent of workers actually changed jobs in 2006 on a voluntary basis.)

Compared to the fourth quarter a year ago, the Employee Confidence Index was up 1.4 points, with significantly more workers expressing confidence in their employers’ futures (56 percent vs. 46 percent).

“We weren’t overly surprised to see the Employee Confidence Index for this sector come back down after a third-quarter high,” said Ralph Henderson, senior vice president of Staffing Services for Spherion. “Manufacturing growth has slowed or stabilized, although we are still seeing demand for workers across the country, from six sigma and lean manufacturing expertise in the Midwest to electronics assembly workers in California. Commercial construction is thriving in pockets across the country, including San Diego. Demand for logistics and retail personnel picked up in Florida, reflecting seasonal needs, and the call for forklift operators continues as well.”

Employee Confidence Index: The Employee Confidence Index for workers in the industrial, manufacturing and construction industries declined 1.7 points in the final quarter of 2006, fueled primarily by a six-percentage-point increase in workers who are not confident in the future of their employers and a five-percentage-point increase in those who feel fewer jobs are available. This sector continues to lag the overall U.S. Index, with the gap widening to 6.6 points in the fourth quarter.

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 light industrial, manufacturing and construction industry 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
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 377 work in light industrial, manufacturing and construction 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 light industrial, manufacturing and construction positions (n= 377) would be +/- five 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 Time^SM, 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.