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Hunting for hopeful job-market signs

June 5, 2009 on 4:28 pm | In economy/job market, surveys | No Comments

Everyone is hungry for some good economic news these days. Today’s unemployment report from the government (9.4% for May) didn’t really fit the bill. However, the loss of 345K jobs that month is the lowest job loss since September. Let’s hope the glimmer becomes a trend.

There was also an encouraging press release today about a three-month rise in employee confidence. The Spherion Employee Confidence Index, which measures workers’ confidence in their personal employment situation and optimism in the economic environment, rose again in May. Fewer workers believe the economy is getting weaker and more workers are optimistic in their ability to find a new job, according to a Spherion press release.

Some highlights:

* Thirty-eight percent of workers believe the economy is getting weaker compared to 46 percent in the previous month. Twenty percent of workers believe the economy is getting stronger, an increase of four percentage points from April.

* Forty-two percent of U.S. adult workers reported confidence in their ability to find a new job, an increase of four percentage points from the previous month.

Of course, the emphasis is on a perception of things being “less bad.” Do we really know? In the absence of hard evidence, perceptions may be some comfort. Especially when it comes to finding a new job — confidence and a positive attitude are incredibly valuable!