Employee Confidence Up, Next New Jobs?

Jobs, jobs, jobs… it's all about jobs when it comes to a healthy real estate market and investing “well” in real estate. While the leaders in this country continue to ignore the hundreds of thousands of potential jobs available in sustainability, green and infrastructure, recent news from the SFN Group Employee Confidence Index is a sign that our economy continues to grow-albeit modestly.

The SFN index, which measures workers' confidence in their personal employment situation and optimism in the economic environment, shows that although less than a quarter (22 percent) of workers believe the economy is getting stronger, nearly three-fourths (73 percent) believe it is unlikely they will lose their jobs in the next 12 months. Other highlights:

Confidence in Macroeconomic Environment:

• Twenty-two percent of U.S. workers believe the economy is getting stronger, an increase of one percentage point from October.
• Fifty-nine percent of workers believe there are fewer jobs available, down from 60 percent who believed so last month.

Confidence in Personal Employment Situation:

• Sixty-two percent of workers are confident in the future of their current employer, a decrease of one percentage point from October.
• The amount of workers confident in their ability to find a new job increased in October, with 42 percent reporting confidence. This is a rise of two percentage points from the previous month.

Job Security:

• More workers believe that it is unlikely they will lose their jobs in the next 12 months. Specifically, 73 percent believe it is unlikely versus 71 percent in October.

Job Transition:

• Thirty-two percent of workers are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months, representing an increase of three percentage points from the previous month.

Confidence by Gender:

• More women are confident in the future of their current employer. Specifically, 66 percent of women reported confidence versus 59 percent of men.
• Women are more likely to believe that there are fewer jobs available, with 62 percent indicating so. On the other hand, 56 percent of men share this outlook.

Confidence by Age:

• Nearly half (46 percent) of workers ages 45-54 believe the economy is getting weaker, the highest among all age brackets.
• Workers ages 18-34 are the most likely among all age brackets to indicate a likelihood of making a job transition in the next 12 months, with 42 percent reporting a job change is likely.

Confidence by Income:

• Workers earning $75K or greater were the most confident in their job security, with 81 percent reporting that it is not likely they will lose their jobs in the next 12 months.
• Forty-two percent of workers earning less than $35K are likely to make a job transition, the highest among all income brackets.