The confidence of U.S. workers who are in industrial, manufacturing and construction positions increased in the first quarter of 2007, according to the latest Spherion Employment Report survey conducted by Harris Interactive. The Industrial, Manufacturing and Construction Employee Confidence Index rose 1.6 points from 53.0 in the fourth quarter to 54.6 in the first quarter of 2007, fueled by an increase in workers who believe that the economy is stabilizing (up six percentage points) and that job availability is stabilizing (up seven percentage points).
Highlights of the report include:
Workers' confidence in their ability to find new employment rose two percentage points to 54% in the first quarter of 2007.
More workers reported they were likely to look for new jobs in the next 12 months (up three percentage points to 36%).
More than half remained confident in the future of their current employer (56%) and almost three-quarters (70%) feel secure in their jobs -- both virtually unchanged from the first quarter.
"We've also seen increased demand for light industrial skills, from assembly line workers and material handlers to light equipment operators. There's also a good-news story in the growing need for skilled engineers and technologists, as manufacturers seek greater plant and process innovation in order to remain globally competitive." said Ralph Henderson, of Spherion.
