U.S. Employment Report: Employee Confidence Index Slightly Dips Over Concerns About Confidence in Future of Employer

The SFN Group Employee Confidence Index dropped by 0.5 points to 52.6 in May. The Index, which measures workers' confidence in their personal employment situation and optimism in the economic environment, reveals a decrease in workers' confidence in the strength of the economy, as well as in the future of their current employer.

"Our latest report is still very positive despite a slight dip in overall confidence," said Roy Krause, president and CEO of SFN Group, Inc. "Not only are workers more confident in the number of jobs available, but over 40 percent are optimistic that they would be able to find one. Another positive sign that we are seeing is the increasing need for administrative and clerical workers. This shows that hiring has expanded beyond the light industrial sector -- which tends to lead in a recovery -- and investments are being made in front-office talent to support business growth. We are also seeing increased activity in both recruitment process outsourcing and technology, as well as more permanent hiring activity in the accounting and finance middle management ranks. These demands, coupled with the continued job gains seen within the temporary help services sector, are all good signs that point towards a continued recovery and an expanding job market."

A Look Inside the Report:

Confidence in Overall Situation:

The SFN Group Employee Confidence Index dropped by 0.5 points to 52.6 in May. The Index, which measures workers' confidence in their personal employment situation and optimism in the economic environment, reveals a decrease in workers' confidence in the strength of the economy, as well as in the future of their current employer.

Confidence in Macroeconomic Environment:

Twenty-nine percent of U.S. workers believe the economy is getting stronger, down two percentage points from April.
Fifty-nine percent of workers surveyed believe there are fewer jobs available, decreasing one percentage point from the previous month.

Confidence in Personal Employment Situation:

Forty-three percent of workers are confident in their ability to find a new job compared to 42 percent in April.
The percentage of workers reporting confidence in the future of their current employers decreased by five percentage points to 63 percent.

Job Security:

Seventy-one percent of workers say they are unlikely to lose their jobs in the next year, decreasing one percentage points from the previous month.

Job Transition:

Thirty-five percent of workers are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months, decreasing one percentage point from April's reading.

Confidence by Gender:

Thirty-five percent of males believe the economy is getting stronger compared to 22 percent of females.
When asked if they are confident in their ability to find a new job, more males reported optimism, with 47 percent of reporting confidence (versus 39 percent of females).
Less females than males reported that they are likely to look for a new job in the next year (34 percent of females and 36 percent of males).

Confidence by Age:

According to the latest results, 32 percent of workers ages 18-34 believe that the economy is getting stronger, the highest among all age brackets.
Workers ages 55+ are the most confident in the future of their current employer, with 66 percent of workers in this age group indicating so.
Forty-three percent of workers between the ages of 18-34 are likely to look for a new job in the next year. This is the highest among all age brackets.

Confidence by Income:

Workers earning $75K or greater are the most confident in the strength of the economy, with 34 percent indicating so compared to 19 percent of those earning between $35-49.9K.
Forty-three percent of workers earning between $35-49.9K are the most likely to look for a new job in the next year. This is the highest reading across all income cohorts.

May Full Results and Archive Information

About the SFN Group Employment Report

Methodology

About Harris Interactive

About SFN Group, Inc.

SFN Group is a strategic workforce solutions company that provides professional services and general staffing to help businesses more effectively source, deploy and manage people and the work they do. As an industry pioneer, SFN Group has sourced, screened and placed millions of individuals in temporary, temp-to-hire and full-time jobs for more than 60 years.

With approximately 575 locations in the United States and Canada, SFN delivers strategic workforce solutions that improve business performance. From outsourcing to technology to professional services to staffing, SFN delivers the best combination of people, performance and service to improve the way work gets done. It provides its services to approximately 8,000 customers, from Fortune 500 companies to a wide range of small and mid-size organizations. The company employs more than 160,000 people annually through its network and is one of North America's largest employers. SFN provides its solutions through a family of specialized businesses: Technisource, Tatum, The Mergis Group, Todays Office Professionals, SourceRight Solutions and Spherion Staffing Services.

To learn more, visit www.sfngroup.com.