By USDR
The Randstad Office and Administration Confidence Index, a measure of overall confidence among U.S. office and administrative workers, decreased slightly in the first quarter of 2013, with the Index falling three-tenths of a point to 51.3.
“Confidence levels among office and administrative workers in the first quarter was minimally lower compared to the fourth quarter of last year, but this reading could reflect overall economic uncertainty around sequestration, federal spending cuts, rising gas prices and payroll taxes, as well as never-ending budget talks on Capitol Hill,” said Phyllis Finley, Executive Vice President at Randstad US.
The quarterly study, conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of Randstad, surveyed 433 U.S. workers employed in the office and administrative sector in January, February and March of 2013.
“In this quarter’s survey, we see barely any change in confidence levels among job workers regarding their ability to find jobs, their intent to job search, and their optimism about the future of their employers,” Finley said. “However, we do see a greater number of employees who believe the economy is getting stronger. These views are supported by positive job gains in the office and administrative sector. In fact, according to the most recent jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), administrative and support services added 35,000 jobs in May. This is just one of several indicators that point to a positive job market for office and administrative professionals.”
More Administrative Workers Believe the Economy is Getting Stronger
- More than a quarter (26 percent) of office and administrative workers believe the economy is getting stronger, rising two percentage points from the fourth quarter of 2012.
Number of Administrative Workers Who Believe More Jobs Are Available Slips in Q1
- Just 18 percent of administrative and clerical workers believe there are more jobs available, a decline of three percentage points from the fourth quarter of 2012. Meanwhile, nearly half (49 percent) of workers surveyed believe there are fewer jobs available, rising three percentage points from the previous quarter’s readings.
Administrative Workers’ Confidence in their Ability to Find Jobs Holds Steady
- When asked how optimistic they are in their ability to find employment, 35 percent of administrative workers indicate that they are confident they could find a job, dropping just one percentage point from the previous quarter of 2012.
Administrative Workers’ Confidence in their Employers’ Future Remains Unchanged
- Six-in-ten administrative workers (60 percent) feel confident in the future of their current employer, showing no change from the previous quarter.
About One-Third of Administrative Workers Likely to Job Search
- Thirty-two percent of administrative workers say they are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months, dropping two percentage points from 2012’s fourth quarter reading.
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Randstad from January 14-16,February 11-13, and March 5-7 2013, among 3,631 adults 18 and older of which 433 are employed in office and administrative positions. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
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