Confidence among finance and accounting workers fell 5.2 points to 52.6 during the second quarter of 2012 following its highest level in four years, according to the Mergis Group Finance and Accounting Employee Confidence Index by the Mergis Group.
The dip in confidence revolves around the strength of the economy as well as job availability. Despite the lower feeling of confidence, the sense of job security among respondents continues to be strong.
"The decline in employee confidence during the second quarter appears to be in response to global economic uncertainty emanating from Europe as opposed to material deterioration in personal economic conditions," says Steve McMahan, executive vice president of Randstad U.S., Professionals. "This would seem to be borne out by the fact that slightly more workers feel secure in their current positions. Steady improvements are being made in the finance and accounting labor market and the longer-term outlook is bright.
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"In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the financial specialist occupational group, which includes accountants, auditors, loan officers and financial analysts, to grow 16 percent and add 421,100 new jobs between now and 2020. Currently, we are seeing growing demand in a number of areas, including senior financial analysts within the alternative fund and banking industry, mortgage loan officers, and finance directors within the consumer products, health care, and oil and gas industries, to name a few."
The survey also finds that 38 percent of respondents say the economy is becoming weaker, representing an increase of 17 percentage points from the first quarter of 2012. While only 21 percent respondents say job availability has grown, 53 percent of respondents say fewer jobs are on the market.
Another 42 percent of respondents feel confident in their chances of finding new jobs, marking a decrease of seven percentage points from first quarter of 2012. Seventy-four percent of respondents believe it is unlikely they will lose their jobs for a slight dip from 73 in the previous quarter.
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