HRO Today announced that it has released its Worker Confidence Index Study for the third quarter of 2017.
In this study, the Worker Confidence Index (WCI) reports an increase of 2.8 points over the prior quarter to 102.5 – also up from the same period one year ago.
Of the four components of the WCI, likelihood of a promotion rose by 3.2 points in the third quarter, while other components remained virtually the same. Congruently, after a sharp decline earlier this year, job security has quickly rebounded and now stands at about where it was five quarters ago (104.8). Lack of concern about job loss is the most important indicator in estimating worker confidence about their current and near-term financial outlook.
Meanwhile, the rate of growth in the gross domestic product remains unchanged from the prior quarter, and workers have indicated that their trust in company leadership has been waning steadily over the last three quarters.
“Employees are continuing to feel more confident about employment security at the moment, and at the same time are questioning their trust in senior leadership,” said Larry Basinait, vice president of market research, SharedXpertise. “This observation corresponds with a decline in the belief of the likelihood of a raise of at least three percent. Positive earnings news must translate into more compensation for them.”
“The results of this study are particularly interesting as the rise in perceived likelihood of a promotion shows individual optimism among workers, while the continuing mistrust of company leadership indicates that workers may not be confident in the overall direction of their organizations,” said Jonathan Grosso, vice president, enterprise sales for Yoh. “Though a rebounding index is encouraging for employers and talent managers, it’s clear leadership needs to be more forthcoming with employees about organizational direction and take a more active role in supporting their careers.”
Study Background
HRO Today magazine and Yoh have been working together since 2014 to produce an index that measures U.S. employment security from the perspective of employees. While multiple indices focusing on attitudes of the economy already exist – such as the Consumer Confidence Index, Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) or United States Consumer Sentiment – these measures focus more on macro metrics, with much less emphasis on attitudinal measures of those employed.
The focus of the Worker Confidence Index Study is measuring perceived employment security. According to the U.S Bureau of Economic Analysis, more than 70% of what the U.S. produces is for personal consumption. Since the perception of job security greatly impacts purchasing behavior, there is a need to focus on how individuals perceive their job outlook.
The exclusive report is available for download by clicking here. For more information about SharedXpertise, visit www.hrotoday.com, or contact publisher Bill MacRae, at bill.macrae@sharedxpertise.com.
About Yoh
For over 70 years, Yoh has provided the talent needed for the jobs and projects critical to their clients’ success by providing comprehensive workforce solutions that focus on aerospace and defense, engineering, federal services, health care, life sciences, information technology, and telecommunications. Yoh fulfills immediate resource needs and delivers enterprise workforce solutions, including managed services, recruitment process outsourcing, vendor management systems, independent contractor compliance, and payroll services. For more information, visit Yoh.com.
About HRO Today and HRO Today Global
HRO Today and HRO Today Global are the properties of SharedXpertise Media and offer the broadest and deepest reach available anywhere into the HR industry. Our magazines, web portals, research, e-newsletters, events and social networks reach over 180,000 senior-level HR decision-makers with rich, objective, game-changing content. Our No. 1 strength is our reach. HR leaders rely heavily on the HRO Today’s Baker’s Dozen rankings across six different categories when selecting an HR service provider.
Media Contact:
Bill MacRae
bill.macrae@sharedxpertise.com
# # #