Worker confidence inches up even as the jobless rate rises

By Palm Beach Business.com Staff

FORT LAUDERDALE — The Spherion Employee Confidence Index, increased slightly in March, rising 1.3 points to 41.4. The Index measures workers' confidence in their personal employment situation and optimism in the economy.

The Spherion report was released Friday, just as the Labor Department announced that the unemployment rate for March rose to 8.5 percent from February’s revised 8.1 percent. The ranks of the jobless swelled by 694,000 to 13.2 million during the month.

According to Spherion slightly more workers expressed confidence in the future of their current employer. At the same time, the majority of workers reported that the economy is getting weaker (68 percent) and fewer jobs are available (78 percent).

"As greater efforts are being put forth to revive the economy, our latest index shows a slight increase from last month. Despite this gain, our Employee Confidence Index still remains near our survey history low of 40.1," Spherion Corp. CEO Roy Krause said. "As long as national job loss continues to mount, workers will unsurprisingly worry about the economy and their own personal employment situation.

“In fact, our latest survey of U.S. workers shows heightened concern about job security. As businesses make adjustments both large and small, it's important to remember that an economic recovery won't happen overnight. It took a few years for our country to get in its current position. The good news is that with every downturn comes an upturn — it's just a matter of when."

Only six percent of workers believe the economy is getting stronger, showing no change from February. At the same time, 68 percent believe the economy is getting weaker, decreasing two percentage points from 70 percent in February.

Five percent of U.S. adult workers surveyed believe there are more jobs available. This figure remains unchanged from the previous month. At the same time, seventy-eight percent of workers report that there are fewer jobs available compared to 79 percent in February.

Sixty-six percent of U.S. adult workers feel confident in the future of their current employer, rising three percentage points from February.

The percentage of U.S. adult workers confident in their ability to find a new job increased by one percentage point to 39 percent in March.

Sixty-eight percent of U.S. workers say it is unlikely they will lose their jobs in the next year, decreasing three percentage points from February.

Thirty-six percent of workers are likely to look for a new job in the next year compared to 33 percent in the previous month.

Sixty-eight of both male and female workers reported that the economy is getting weaker in March.

Eighty-one percent of female workers believe fewer jobs are available compared to 76 percent of male workers.

The percentage of male workers confident in their ability to find a new job increased by three percentage points to 45 percent in March. According to the results, they are also more likely to look for a new position.

When asked how confident they are in the future of their current employer, 64 percent of males and 67 percent of females responded that they are confident. This is up from 62 percent and 63 percent, respectively, last month.

For the third consecutive month, workers between the ages of 18 and 34 years old are the most likely to report that they will look for a new job in the next year, with 48 percent reporting that they are likely to do so. Only 25 percent of workers over 55 years old are likely to job search in the next 12 months.

Workers over 55 years old are the most confident in the future of their current employer, with 72 percent reporting confidence in March — the highest across all age groups.

Twenty percent of workers between 18 and 34 years old reported that they are likely to lose their job in the next month. This percentage is higher than all age groups for the second consecutive month.

Seventy-two percent of workers earning $50,000 to $74,900 believe the economy is getting weaker, up from 71 percent last month. This is 14 percentage points higher than those workers earning less than $35,000.

Eighty-three percent of workers earning $50,000 to $74,900 believe fewer jobs are available, compared to 71 percent of workers earning less than $35,000.

Forty-two percent of workers with incomes between $50,000 to $74,900 are likely to look for a new job in the next year, compared to 30 percent of workers earning $75,000 and over.