Randstad U.S. Employment Report: Worker Confidence on the Rise

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NEW YORK, Nov. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — The Randstad Employee Confidence Index increased by 0.8 points to 45.6 in October. The Index, which measures workers’ confidence in their personal employment situation and optimism in the economic environment, shows that slightly fewer workers believe the economy is getting weaker and more believe that the number of jobs available increased.

“Worker confidence in the economy and in the job market continues its sluggish climb back to higher levels this month,” says Joanie Ruge, senior vice president and chief employment analyst of Randstad Holding U.S. “Results from our Employee Confidence Index mirror the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey, which showed improvement for the second month in a row. It appears that many businesses and consumers alike are feeling uncertain in terms of a recovery in the near term due to mixed economic signals. While we anticipate modest growth for the remainder of this year, we are optimistic that we will see healthier hiring activity in 2012—albeit slow-moving. This is particularly beneficial for the temporary staffing sector as many companies rely on these services to maintain a flexible headcount, and to locate hard-to-find skill sets in the recovery process. We are also seeing growth in permanent placement positions and expect this trend to continue heading into the New Year.”

The online survey was conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Randstad. It surveyed 1,219 employed U.S. adults, aged 18 and over between October 10 and 12, 2011.

A Look Inside the Report:

Confidence in Overall Situation:

The Randstad Employee Confidence Index increased by 0.8 points to 45.6 in October. The Index, which measures workers’ confidence in their personal employment situation and optimism in the economic environment, shows that slightly fewer workers believe the economy is getting weaker and more believe that the number of jobs increased.

Confidence in Macroeconomic Environment:

Fifty-one percent of U.S. workers believe the economy has weakened, decreasing by two percentage points from September.
Twelve percent of employed adults believe that more jobs are available compared to nine percent in the previous month’s report.

Confidence in Personal Employment Situation:

The number of U.S. workers indicating that they are confident in the future of their employer remained unchanged in October. This indicator remains at 60 percent.
Thirty-six percent of workers are confident in their ability to find a new job, rising one percentage point from September.

Job Security:

Sixty-eight percent of workers believe that it is unlikely they will lose their jobs in the next 12 months. This is a decrease of one percentage point from the previous month.

Job Transition:

Thirty-four percent of workers are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months. This is up from 32 percent in September.

Randstad U.S. Employment Report: Worker Confidence on the Rise