U.S. Employment Report: Confidence Increases in April

Workers More Confident in Ability to Find A Job, Job Availability

 

The SFN Group Employee Confidence Index increased 3.0 points to 53.4 in April. The Index, which measures workers’ confidence in their personal employment situation and optimism in the economic environment, shows an overall increase in confidence. Namely, more workers expressed confidence in their ability to find a new job and in job availability.

“In line with our expectations, our Confidence Index continues to rise gradually and steadily as new jobs become available across more sectors and regions,” says Roy Krause, president and chief executive officer of SFN Group, Inc. “While the country has experienced accelerated job growth for some time now, the improvement in some employment sectors has been slower to materialize. However, as hiring and business expansion continues, workers are beginning to feel more confident in both the availability of, and their ability to land, new jobs. This renewed optimism is supported by more employers reporting their intent to increase hiring plans for college graduates.”  

 

The online survey was conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of the SFN Group. It surveyed 1,131 employed U.S. adults, aged 18 and over between April 12 and 14, 2011.

A Look Inside the Report:

Confidence in Macroeconomic Environment:

 

• One quarter (25%) of U.S. workers believe the economy is getting stronger, up one percentage point from March.
• Fifty-one percent of workers believe there are fewer jobs available, decreasing five percentage points from last month.

 

Confidence in Personal Employment Situation:

 

• Nearly two-thirds (65%) of workers are confident in the future of their current employer, increasing two percentage points from the previous month.
• Forty-three percent of workers are confident in their ability to find a new job, up three percentage points from March.

 

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 drop of two percentage points from the previous month.

 

Job Transition:

 

• Fewer workers are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months. In April, 32% of workers indicated the likelihood to make a job transition versus 34% in March.

 

Confidence by Gender:

 

• Women are less confident in the strength of the economy. Specifically, 18% of women believe the economy is getting stronger, compared with 31% of men who believe so.
• More men are confident in their ability to find a new job, with nearly half (49%) indicating that belief. On the other hand, slightly more than one-third (36%) of women expressed the same confidence.

 

Confidence by Age:

 

• Workers age 18-34 expressed the highest levels of confidence in their ability to find a new job, with 50% reporting that confidence. This is the highest among all age brackets.  
• Workers age 45-54 are the most likely to believe there are fewer jobs available, with 65% expressing this belief. On the opposite end of the spectrum, one quarter (25%) of workers age 18-34 believe there are more jobs available.

 

Confidence by Income:

 

• Workers earning $75K+ are the most confident in their ability to find a new job, with 48% of workers revealing confidence.
• Fewer workers earning less than $35K are likely to make a job transition than last month. Specifically, 37% of workers are likely to make a job transition in the next 12 months as reported in April versus the 48% who believed so in March.

 

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.