Some workers losing confidence in economy
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. workers are becoming less confident about the national jobs outlook, even as they feel secure about their own positions and the economy continues to add jobs at a steady pace.
Employment confidence fell to its lowest level of the year last month, Spherion Corp (SFN.N) said on Friday, ahead of a government report that showed stronger-than-expected hiring.
According to the Spherion survey, 61 percent of workers are confident in the future of their employer, down 4 points from the previous month. By contrast, the percentage of workers confident in their own job security went up 2 points, to 79 percent.
"With the housing market, layoffs in pharmaceuticals, etc., some people are starting to say, 'I'm not as confident in my employer's position,'" said Roy Krause, Spherion's Chief Executive.
"There's clearly some slowing in the economy ... but people are still pretty confident (that) 'I can get another job if I need to,'" he said.
Another monthly survey, the Hudson Employment Index, found that fewer workers expect hiring at their own companies and fewer feel confident about their finances.
That index reached a record low in November, down about 9 points to a reading of 91.9. That compares with 105.3 a year ago and a base level of 100 when the index launched at the start of 2004.
"(Workers) may be on the receiving end of those higher interest rates, they're feeling a personal financial crunch," said Robert Morgan, co-president of Recruitment and Talent Management at Hudson Highland Group Inc (HHGP.O) in Chicago.
If workers' pessimism persists, or deepens, it may begin to affect how employers act.
"It absolutely has some impact -- employers are employees too," Morgan said. "It does reflect what employers do. I think we're seeing employers being more cautious in planning, they are more thoughtful about how they increase their headcount."
Skilled workers remain in short supply in areas like finance, accounting, sales and marketing, information technology and legal, Morgan said.
"We're still seeing strong demand for staffing services, and strong demand for talent in certain areas," he said.
The surveys of worker sentiment come against a backdrop of steady hiring, led by service-providing businesses. The U.S. economy added 94,000 jobs outside the farm sector in November, a bit more than expected. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.7 percent, the Labor Department said on Friday.
"There's plenty of jobs out there," Spherion CEO Krause said.
Shares of U.S. staffing companies were mixed after the jobs report. The Standard & Poor's HR Employment Services index .GSPEMPL was trading down 0.2 percent at 101.83.
Manpower Inc (MAN.N) was up 1 percent at $64.99, Robert Half International Inc (RHI.N) was up 0.5 percent to $26.51 and Spherion Corp (SFN.N) fell 2 percent to $8.24, all on the New York Stock Exchange.
Swiss-based Adecco (ADEN.VX), the world's biggest staffing company, was up 2.4 percent in Europe.
On the Nasdaq, Monster Worldwide Inc MNST.O shares were down 0.9 percent to $33.60, while Hudson Highland lost 1 percent to $8.92.
(Reporting by Nick Zieminski, editing by Leslie Gevirtz)
