Randstad Survey Shows Employee Confidence Up in February

According to the The Randstad Employee Confidence Index, as of February 2013, U.S. workers may be feeling slightly more upbeat about the economy and the job market. The Index rose 1.4 points last month to 53.5 and revealed that of the more than 1,000 U.S. workers surveyed, 30 percent believe the economy is strengthening and nearly a quarter say more jobs are available. Each month the study, conducted online by Harris Interactive, tracks U.S. workers’ perspectives around jobs and the economy.

“Much like the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index, our report shows optimism in the economy seems to have improved over the last month,” Randstad US Managing Director, Jim Link, said. “Concerns over the impending fiscal cliff appear to have dissipated a bit. In fact, more workers believe the number of jobs available have increased—which is a great sign that overall sentiment on economic conditions is improving.”

Other findings from the report include:

• 30 percent of employees believe the economy is getting stronger, a 4 percentage point increase from January

• 24 percent of workers believe there are more jobs available (compared to only 19 percent who said this last month)

• 56 percent of respondents expressed optimism in the future health of their companies, down 5 percent from the 61 percent reported in January

• Nearly four-in-ten (37 percent) workers surveyed say they are likely to look for new job over the next 12 months compared to 33 percent in January