LoginAmerican workers were feeling more confident about the economy, their employers and their future job prospects during April 2013, according to Randstad's Employee Confidence Index. The measure of worker sentiment surveyed 1,206 employed adults over the age of 18 during April and weighed their responses based on age, gender income, education, race and region.
The Employee Confidence Index was at 57 in April, a figure last seen before the Great Recession in August 2007. A measure of macroeconomic conditions, which calculates worker sentiment on the strength of the economy and availability of jobs, also reached a post-recession high of 46.8 points
"We are continuing to see a renewed sense of optimism across the U.S. workforce. The data reveals employees are feeling an increased sense of security about their own jobs, and the economy as a whole, despite relative global economy uncertainty," said Randstad managing director Jim Link.
The survey further found that Southern workers were the most confident overall, beating out all other U.S. regions by 2-4 points. Middle-aged workers were the most anxious and registered the lowest levels of both employee and personal confidence.
A different survey by MainStreet painted a somewhat different pictures of worker sentiment during April 2013. Tracking responses from 1,006 adult Americans, the study found that 44 percent of Americans are concerned about losing their jobs and almost a third did not think they would be able to easily re-employ in the event of a job loss.