Employee Confidence Index Edges Up

Worker optimism in future of current employer on the rise despite setback in general economic outlook

The SFN Group Employee Confidence Index increased 1.4 points to 50.1 in October. The index, which measures workers’ confidence in their personal employment situation and optimism in the economic environment, shows that 40% of workers believe the economy is getting weaker and 60% believe that there are fewer jobs available. Despite this dreary outlook on the macroeconomic landscape, nearly three-fourths (71%) of workers report that they are unlikely to lose their jobs in the next 12 months.

“Our Employee Confidence Index increased to 50.1 this month — marking the first time it has reached over 50 points in more than four months,” said William Grubbs, executive vice president and COO of SFN Group, Inc. “This month’s index paints a picture that many U.S. workers are becoming increasingly more personally confident, but remain lukewarm when it comes to the health of the national economy.

“Much of the uncertainty for U.S. workers could be attributed to their exposure to some of the declining economic indicators, including the high unemployment level seen over the last year and a half. However, a very different picture appears when considering predictive indicators, such as the temporary help services sector, consistently delivering monthly sequential increases over the last year and up 23.1% year-over-year — adding more than 451,000 jobs in the last 13 months. In fact, within our own business we are seeing growth in areas such as recruitment process outsourcing, as well as finance and accounting, IT and clerical staffing. This is an indication that the recovery is becoming more and more broad-based.”

A Look Inside the Report:

Confidence in Macroeconomic Environment:

• Twenty-one percent of U.S. workers believe the economy is getting stronger, an increase of two percentage points from September. Conversely, 40% believe the economy is getting weaker, showing no change from September.


• Sixty percent of workers believe there are fewer jobs available, compared with 58% who believed so last month.

Confidence in Personal Employment Situation:

• Sixty-three percent of workers are confident in the future of their current employer, an increase of two percentage points from September.
  


• Forty percent of workers are confident in their ability to find a new job, increasing one percentage point from the previous month.
  

Job Security:

• Seventy-one percent of workers believe that it is unlikely they will lose their jobs in the next 12 months, increasing by one percentage point from September.

Job Transition:

• The amount of workers likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months showed no change from September, holding steady at 35%.

Confidence by Gender:

• In October, more than one quarter (26%) of men believe the economy is getting stronger versus 16% of women.


• More men are confident in their ability to find a new job. Specifically, 44% of men reported confidence versus 36% of women.


• Women are more likely to believe that there are fewer jobs available, with 65% indicating this belief. On the other hand, 56% of men share this outlook.

Confidence by Age:

• More than half (55%) of workers ages 55+ believe the economy is getting weaker, the highest among all age brackets.
  


• Workers ages 55+ are the least likely among all age brackets to indicate a likelihood of making a job transition in the next 12 months, with 73% reporting a job change is likely.
  

Confidence by Income:

• Workers earning $75K or greater were the most confident in the future of their current employer, with 72% reporting confidence. On the contrary, workers earning $35K or less were the least confident in the future of their current employer (48%).
  


• Workers earning less than $35K are the least confident in their ability to find a new job, with one-third reporting confidence (33%).