U.S. Employee Confidence Levels Ease Slightly in August

Confidence in current employment situation remains high among workers

After two months of record-breaking confidence levels among employees, the August Randstad U.S. Employee Confidence Index fell to 55.9, declining 3.2 points from 59.1 last month. The Randstad macroeconomic confidence index also fell to 44.9 from 49.2 in July, as did the Randstad personal confidence index which decreased 2.1 points to 66.9. The study is conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of Randstad, among 1,043 employed U.S. adults ages 18 and older.

Workers indicated less confidence in the strength of the economy, with only 27 percent believing it is getting stronger this month compared to 35 percent in July. When it comes to the availability of jobs and the ability to find one, workers showed diminished optimism in August. For example, four in 10 workers believe there are fewer jobs available, and nearly one-quarter (24 percent) say they are not confident in their ability to find them.

However, confidence levels regarding their current employment situation remain high. The clear majority (74 percent) of workers believe it is not likely they will lose their job in the next 12 months. In addition, 61 percent of employees are confident in the future of their current employer, and more than five in 10 (53 percent) workers say it is not likely they will look for another job in the next year.

"Workers' confidence reached all-time highs during the big accelerations in job growth, the unemployment rate fell markedly and hiring diversified across more industries," said Jim Link, Chief HR Officer, Randstad North America. "While still showing steady growth, more tempered jobs reports in recent months have translated into a slight reduction in employee confidence levels, although nowhere near the low in October one year ago. The bottom line is the economy is still climbing upward. In fact, July marked the sixth straight month of employment growth above 200,000.

"While we expect to see slight dips and bumps in employee confidence levels in response to monthly employment indicators, the overall sentiment remains fairly positive and at higher levels than we have seen over the past four years," continued Link. "Businesses aren't about to hit the brakes on hiring as indicated by a number of reports. The nation's largest small-business lobbying group says employment has risen 10 consecutive months for the first time since 2006. And a weekly report that tracks how many people apply for jobless benefits recently hit a 14-year low."

Randstad, the second largest staffing and HR services firm in the world, has been tracking workforce trends and publishing the U.S. Employee Confidence Index since 2004.

www.randstad.com

Tweet