Illinois Employment Report: More Workers Optimistic about Strength of Economy, Confident in Personal Employment Situation
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60 percent of workers confident in ability to find a new job
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More workers confident in strength of economy
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Fewer workers likely to look for new job
CHICAGO, Ill., October 19, 2006– The Illinois Employee Confidence Index rose in September, as more workers believe the economy is getting stronger and have confidence in their personal employment situation. The Illinois Employee Confidence Index rose 6.1 points to 55.9, its first rise since May 2006. The recent survey, conducted by Harris Interactive® on behalf of Spherion Corporation (NYSE:SFN), reveals that 60 percent of workers are confident in their ability to find a new job and 22 percent believe that the economy is getting stronger, both showing increases from August.
Despite the rise in the Employee Confidence Index, 42 percent of workers report that they are likely to look for a new job in the next year, compared to 46 percent in August. This percentage, however, still remains above the percentage of overall U.S. workers.
“Overall confidence has really picked up this month,” said Michael Ruter, managing director of Spherion® Professional Services in Chicago. “Decreasing prices at the pump, coupled with steady job growth over the past few months, may help explain this renewed confidence. Job prospects for .NET developers, those with SEC reporting and public accounting experience continue to be in high demand, in addition to those in healthcare and energy industries. For the coming quarter, we expect companies to keep looking for highly qualified talent, especially in the professional and technical occupations.”
Employee Confidence Index: The overall Illinois Employee Confidence Index was 55.9 in September, increasing 6.1 points from August, and 3.5 points higher than the level reported last year. The Index, which measures adult workers’ confidence in their personal employment situation and optimism in the macroeconomic environment, rose as more workers were optimistic about the strength of the economy and their personal prospects.
|
Illinois Workers |
U.S. Workers |
|
Aug |
Sep |
% Point
Change |
Aug |
Sep |
% Point
Change |
| Economy |
Getting Stronger |
18% |
22% |
+4 |
18% |
21% |
+4 |
| Staying Same |
31% |
40% |
+9 |
36% |
38% |
+2 |
| Getting Weaker |
51% |
38% |
-13 |
47% |
41% |
-6 |
| Job Availability |
More Jobs |
16% |
20% |
+4 |
24% |
25% |
+1 |
| Same Amount |
39% |
45% |
+6 |
34% |
38% |
+4 |
| Fewer Jobs |
45% |
35% |
-10 |
42% |
38% |
-4 |
| Ability to Find New Job |
Confident |
48% |
60% |
+12 |
57% |
61% |
+4 |
| Neutral |
35% |
24% |
-11 |
30% |
25% |
-5 |
| Not Confident |
17% |
16% |
-1 |
14% |
13% |
-1 |
| Future of Current Employer |
Confident |
50% |
56% |
+6 |
63% |
65% |
+2 |
| Neutral |
31% |
23% |
-8 |
25% |
23% |
-2 |
| Not Confident |
19% |
21% |
+2 |
13% |
12% |
-1 |
| Likelihood to Lose Job |
Likely |
14% |
17% |
+3 |
11% |
11% |
0 |
| Neutral |
24% |
6% |
-18 |
10% |
10% |
0 |
| Not Likely |
62% |
77% |
+15 |
79% |
79% |
0 |
| Likelihood to Look for New Job |
Likely |
46% |
42% |
-4 |
35% |
36% |
+1 |
| Neutral |
10% |
10% |
0 |
11% |
10% |
-1 |
| Not Likely |
44% |
48% |
+4 |
54% |
54% |
0 |
About the Spherion Employment Report
As part of the Spherion Emerging Workforce® Series of employment surveys, the monthly Spherion Employment Report provides a snapshot of the latest workforce trends across the country and is issued in conjunction with state and national labor market releases. 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, which measures employees’ overall confidence in the economy, the future of their employer, the availability of jobs, and their ability to find other employment. The Employee Confidence Index is based on these four components, with a ‘score’ calculated for each 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 scaled from 0 (no confidence) to 100 (complete confidence). A reading above 50 indicates a positive confidence level.
Methodology
The September 2006 Spherion Employment Report is based on data from a Harris Interactive® QuickQuerySM online omnibus conducted on behalf of Spherion Corporation. A U.S. sample of 3,071 employed adults aged 18 years and older, of whom 153 are employed in Illinois (for Aug n=139), < BR> was interviewed in a series of two polls conducted between September 5-7 and September 11-13, 2006. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, income, education and region were weighted where necessary to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting adjusted for respondents’ propensity to be online.
With pure probability samples, with 100 percent response rates, it is possible to calculate the probability that the sampling error (but not other sources of error) is not greater than some number. With a pure probability sample of 3,071 U.S. employed adults one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have asampling error of +/- two percentage points, and the sampling error for the Illinois state sample results is plus or minus eight 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 offices 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, visit http://go.hpolsurveys.com/PR.
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