Monthly survey of Texas workers shows slight increase in overall confidence

by PegNews wire

The Texas Employee Confidence Index reached its highest point since September 2008, increasing 0.3 points to 54.1 in June, according to the latest Dallas-based Spherion Employment Report.

The monthly survey of Texas workers, conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Spherion Corporation, reveals that although overall confidence ticked up slightly, more workers believe the economy is getting weaker and more workers are not confident in their ability to find a new job.

Results from the Texas Employment Report:

-- 38% of workers believe the economy is getting weaker, showing an increase of six percentage points from May.

-- 54% percent of Texas workers are not confident in their ability to find a new job. Despite this, more workers are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months. Specifically, 36% of workers surveyed are likely to job search versus 32% in the previous month.

-- 74% of workers are confident in the future of their current employer compared to 71% in May.

"Despite a marginal drop in our latest findings, it is a pleasant surprise to see the Employee Confidence Index reach a new high for 2009. The stagnant movement from May to June mirrors the sentiment we are hearing from employers and employees alike," said Kim Lockhart, regional vice president for Spherion in Texas. "We continue to see our clients implement conservative hiring practices as the economic forecast remains difficult to predict. However, we are still seeing modest job opportunities in healthcare, energy, education, mortgage and banking, call center and government. We are encouraging job seekers to tailor their job search very specifically to the company they're hoping to join. The cookie-cutter approach to finding a job will not work in today's job market."

The full report is here.

Source: Spherion Corporation