According to the Randstad Engineering Employee Confidence Index, which calculates overall confidence among U.S. engineering workers, confidence is at 64.9 in the first quarter of 2012, marking the highest level of confidence recorded since the third quarter of 2007 at 66.2.
Specifically, respondents report high levels of optimism when it comes to feeling confident regarding their personal employment situations. In fact, respondents are optimistic in their abilities to find new jobs and their futures at their current employers.
"Given the strength of the engineering industry, it was not surprising that the Randstad Engineering Employee Confidence Index was the highest among all other professions tracked," says Richard Zambacca, president of Randstad Engineering. "According to the Department of Labor, there were more than 1.6 million jobs in engineering at the end of Q1 2012, and this is expected to grow at 11 percent over the next 10 years. Based on this projected growth, it is likely that our Index will continue to report high levels of confidence on both a macroeconomic and personal level.
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"In fact, I would even suggest that our Index could continue to remain a frontrunner in terms of overall levels of confidence compared to other sectors. With much of the growth in engineering jobs stemming from the manufacturing industry, coupled with unemployment rates hovering between two to three percent for the majority of occupations, the skills gap between available positions and talent to fill them will became an even more pressing concern in years to come."
The survey also finds that 40 percent of respondents believe the economy is improving, which is up 23 percentage points from the fourth quarter of 2011. Another 28 percent of respondents say more engineering jobs are available, up 15 percentage points from the last quarter, and 26 percent of respondents say they are likely to look for new employment in the next year as opposed to 22 percent from the last quarter.
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