According to the Randstad Employee Confidence Index, which gauges workers' employment confidence and optimism in the economic environment, rose by 0.8 points to 45.6 in October.
"Worker confidence in the economy and in the job market continues its sluggish climb back to higher levels this month," says Joanie Ruge, senior vice president and chief employment analyst of Randstad Holding U.S. "Results from our Employee Confidence Index mirror the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey, which showed improvement for the second month in a row. It appears that many businesses and consumers alike are feeling uncertain in terms of a recovery in the near term due to mixed economic signals.
"While we anticipate modest growth for the remainder of this year, we are optimistic that we will see healthier hiring activity in 2012 — albeit slow-moving. This is particularly beneficial for the temporary staffing sector as many companies rely on these services to maintain a flexible headcount and to locate hard-to-find skill sets in the recovery process. We are also seeing growth in permanent placement positions and expect this trend to continue heading into the new year."
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The index reveals that 51 percent of respondents say the economy has weakened, falling 2 percent from September, while 12 percent of respondents say more jobs are available, compared to 9 percent in the previous month's findings. The number of respondents who are confident in the future of their employment remains at 60 percent.
Another 36 percent of respondents are confident they can find new jobs, a 1 percent increase from September, and 68 percent of respondents say they are unlikely to lose their jobs over the next 12 months, which is a 1 percent decline from the previous month. The survey also shows that 34 percent of respondents are likely to look for new employment opportunities over the next 12 months, a jump from 32 percent in September.
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