Worker Confidence Rebounded in December

In tandem with broader economic indicators, the Randstad US Employee Confidence Index, which tracks U.S. workers' perspectives around jobs and the economy each month, rose 0.7 points to 55.2 in December 2013. The Randstad Employment Tracker was conducted online by Harris Interactive between December 3 and 5 on behalf of Randstad and included 1,104 employed U.S. adults ages 18 and older.

The Randstad Employee Confidence Index findings aligned with The Conference Board's December consumer confidence index — which climbed to 78.1 from 72 in November. Similarly, both reports show greater optimism in the labor market, economy and job availability.

“Despite the dip during the government shutdown, 2013 has proven to be very positive regarding confidence expressed by U.S. employees and overall job creation in the final few months of the year,” said Jim Link, Chief HR Officer, Randstad North America. “For the second year in a row, the Randstad US Employee Confidence Index has consistently registered over 50 points — our official indicator signifying an overall positive sentiment. As we head into 2014, we predict continued job growth as forecasts remain positive in several key sectors, including energy, healthcare, technology and manufacturing.”

Randstad, the second largest staffing and HR services firm in the world, has been tracking workforce trends and publishing the U.S. Employee Confidence Index since 2004.

Employee Confidence Index
	Employee	Macro	Personal		Transition	Security
MONTH	Confidence	Confidence	Confidence		Index	Index
Dec-13	55.2	43.7		66.7	36	70
Nov-13	54.5	41.2		67.8	34	69
Oct-13	51.5	34.8		68.3	37	71
Sep-13	55.7	44.7		66.7	36	76
Aug-13	58	47.3		68.7	32	74
Jul-13	56.3	44.3		68.3	36	72
Jun-13	56.8	46.5		67.1	36	72
May-13	54.8	42.6		67.1	37	69
Apr-13	57	46.8		67.2	35	69
Mar-13	53.9	40.1		67.8	33	73
Feb-13	53.5	42.9		64.1	37	72
Jan-13	52.1	38.3		65.8	33	72

Methodology
This 2013 Randstad Employment Tracker was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Randstad between December 3-5, 2013 among a U.S. sample of 1,104 employed adults, aged 18 years and older. Results were weighted as needed for age, sex, race/ethnicity, income, education, and region. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the U.S. adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to be invited to participate in the Harris Interactive online research panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

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