worker confidence increases for third consecutive month
back to overviewMore workers report being optimistic about economy, job market, and their confidence.
NEW YORK, 12.02.11 – The Randstad Employee Confidence Index increased by 2.4 points to 48.0 in November. The Index, which measures workers' confidence in their employment situation and optimism in the economy, shows that more workers are optimistic about the economy and job market. In addition, more respondents indicated an increase in confidence in their ability to find new employment.
“Our Employee Confidence Index is nearing the end of 2011 on a relatively high note, despite an unsteady and inconsistent economic year," says Joanie Ruge, senior vice president and chief employment analyst of Randstad US. "As we head into the upcoming holiday season, many retailers are eyeing the monthly employment figures to help predict consumer sentiment—and ultimately consumer spending activity. While job creation still remains steady in the private sector, we have seen more employers and candidates open to part-time work. In fact, retailers alone are hiring about 500,000 seasonal employees this year, many of which are part-time according to the National Retail Federation. While many of these workers would prefer full-time positions, one of the benefits of temporary or part-time employment is the ability to bridge into a permanent position down the road. All in all, we believe that we will continue to see moderate but steady economic growth in the fourth quarter and that trend should continue as we enter 2012.”
The survey was conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Randstad. It surveyed 1,280 employed U.S. adults, aged 18 and over between November 14 and 16, 2011.
A Look Inside the Report
Confidence in Macroeconomic Environment:
- 45 percent of U.S. workers believe that the economy is getting weaker. This is a decrease of six percentage points from October's findings.
- 59 percent of employed adults believe that fewer jobs are available compared to 63 percent in the previous month’s report.
Confidence in Personal Employment Situation:
- More workers indicated that they were confident in their ability to find a new job in the next 12 months (40 percent in November versus 36 percent in October).
- The number of U.S. workers indicating that they are confident in the future of their employer remained virtually unchanged in November at 61 percent. This indicator has remained flat since September's report.
Job Security:
- More workers believe that they are unlikely to lose their jobs (71 percent reported this compared to 68 percent in October).
Job Transition:
- 33 percent of workers are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months. This is a one percentage point drop from the previous month.
Methodology
This survey was conducted online in the U.S. by Harris Interactive on behalf of Randstad between November 14 and 16, 2011 among a U.S. sample of 1,280 employed adults, aged 18 years and older. The survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. Results were weighted as needed for age, sex, race/ethnicity, income, education, and region. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.
All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.
Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the U.S. adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to be invited to participate in the Harris Interactive online research panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
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