(March 10, 2009) Report: Employee confidence up in Texas
Employee confidence up in Texas, report shows
Despite the rising unemployment rate and another month of statewide job losses, Texans are actually getting a bit more confident in their employment outlook.
The Texas Employee Confidence Index increased 2.8 points to 48.5 in January, according to the latest report from Spherion Corp. The monthly survey of Texas workers, conducted by Harris Interactive for Spherion indicates that more workers are optimistic about the future of their current employer while the percentage of workers reporting that the economy is getting weaker decreased.
Results from the Texas Employment Report:
Seventy-seven percent of workers are confident in the future of their current employer, increasing nine percentage points from December.
Fewer workers believe fewer jobs are available. Specifically, 61 percent reported that job availability has decreased versus 68 percent in the previous month.
Slightly more workers (49 percent) are confident in their ability to find a new job, compared to 47 percent in December.
"Our latest Employee Confidence Index surprisingly took a turn for the better," said Kim Lockhart, regional vice president for Spherion in Texas. "With all the national headlines pointing to job loss, business closings and foreclosures, I would have expected our latest findings to decline. That being said, Texas has remained fairly resilient to the economic crisis, but certainly not unscathed."