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Texas Employment Report: Employee Confidence Index Rises 6.1 Points

DALLAS, Texas, May 22, 2009 – The Texas Employee Confidence Index rose considerably in April, rising 6.1 points to 50.8, according to the latest Spherion^® Employment Report. The monthly survey of Texas workers, conducted by Harris Interactive^® on behalf of Spherion Corporation, indicates that fewer workers believe the economy is getting weaker and more are confident in the future of their current employer.

Results from the Texas Employment Report:

Forty-two percent of workers believe the economy is getting weaker, decreasing 23 percentage points from March.
Nine percent of Texas workers believe more jobs are available, compared to five percent in the previous month.
Seventy-two percent of Texas workers surveyed are confident in the future of their current employer versus 68 percent in March.

“Compared to the U.S. jobless rate, Texas is definitely faring better,” said Kim Lockhart, regional vice president for Spherion in Texas. “Although clients are still being cautious about adding staff, we have seen some pick-up in the last few weeks. In fact, we are seeing stable demand for work in customer service, mortgages, healthcare, IT and collections. Because a larger pool of applicants are competing for fewer job openings, we are advising job seekers to use this time to sharpen their education and certifications. This will help candidates stay current and give them the competitive edge they will need when the market fully recovers.”

April 2009 Employment Report Results		Texas Workers			U.S. Workers
		Mar	Apr	% Point Change	Mar	Apr	% Point Change
Economy	Getting Stronger	8%	17%	+9	6%	16%	+10
	Staying Same	27%	41%	+14	26%	38%	+12
	Getting Weaker	65%	42%	-23	68%	46%	-22
Job Availability	More Jobs	5%	9%	+4	5%	5%	0
	Same Amount	21%	21%	0	16%	20%	+4
	Fewer Jobs	74%	70%	-4	78%	75%	-3
Ability to Find New Job	Confident	50%	45%	-5	39%	38%	-1
	Neutral	28%	40%	+12	35%	35%	0
	Not Confident	21%	15%	-6	26%	26%	0
Future of Current Employer	Confident	68%	72%	+4	66%	65%	-1
	Neutral	18%	18%	0	22%	22%	0
	Not Confident	14%	11%	-3	13%	13%	0
Likelihood to Lose Job	Likely	16%	13%	-3	18%	18%	0
	Neutral	11%	9%	-2	14%	12%	-2
	Not Likely	70%	81%	+11	68%	70%	+2
Likelihood to Look for New Job	Likely	37%	34%	-3	36%	34%	-2
	Neutral	11%	9%	-2	13%	12%	-1
	Not Likely	52%	57%	+5	51%	54%	+3

About the Spherion Employment Report

Methodology

About Harris Interactive

About Spherion
Spherion Corporation (NYSE:SFN) is a leading recruiting and staffing company that provides integrated solutions and breakout specialties to meet the evolving needs of companies and job candidates. As an industry pioneer for more than 60 years, Spherion has sourced, screened and placed millions of individuals in temporary, temp-to-hire and full-time jobs.

With approximately 630 locations in the United States and Canada, Spherion delivers innovative workforce solutions that improve business performance. Spherion provides its services to approximately 10,000 customers, from Fortune 500 companies to a wide range of small and mid-size organizations. Employing more than 215,000 people annually through its network, Spherion is one of North America’s largest employers. Spherion operates under the following brands: Spherion Staffing Services Group for administrative, clerical and light industrial workers; Technisource for technology professionals and solutions; The Mergis Group for accounting and finance and other professional positions; Todays Office Professionals for specialty administrative personnel; and Spherion Recruitment Process Outsourcing. To learn more, visit www.spherion.com.