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January 2010 US Employment Report

Learn more about the Employment Report 

 A Look Inside the Report: 

Confidence in Overall Situation:

The U.S. Employee Confidence Index increased by one point to 50.1 in January. The Index, which measures workers’ confidence in their personal employment situation and optimism in the economic environment, shows that more workers are optimistic about the strength of the economy and job availability. However, workers also revealed that they are slightly less confident in their own job security and the future of their current employers.

Confidence in Macroeconomic Environment:

• Twenty-eight percent of U.S. workers believe the economy is getting stronger, up four percentage points from December.
• Sixty-two percent of workers surveyed believe there are fewer jobs available, dropping six points from the previous month.

Confidence in Personal Employment Situation:   

• The number of workers confident in their ability to find a new job increased by one percentage point to 39 percent in January.
• The percentage of workers reporting confidence in the future of their current employers decreased by three percentage points to 61 percent in January.

Job Security:

• Sixty-seven percent of workers say they are unlikely to lose their jobs in the next year, decreasing three percentage points from the previous month.

Job Transition: 

• Thirty-three percent of workers are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months, representing a decrease of three percentage points from last month’s reading.

Confidence by Gender:

• In January, more men than women believe the economy is getting stronger. Specifically, 33 percent of men and 22 percent of female workers cited this.
• More females than males are confident in the future of their current employer, with 64 percent of women and 59 percent of men reporting confidence.
• More men than women reported that they are likely to job search in the next 12 months. In January, 35 percent of men and 29 percent of women reported the likelihood to job search.

Confidence by Age:

• Workers ages 35-44 are the most likely to believe the economy is getting stronger, with 36 percent of workers in this age group believing so.
• According to the latest results, 68 percent of workers ages 55+ are confident in the future of their current employer, the highest among all age brackets in January.  
• Forty-four percent of workers between the ages of 18-34 report that they are likely to look for a new job in the next year. This is the highest reading for all age brackets. On the contrary, only 18 percent of workers 55+ are likely to make a job transition in the next 12 months.

Confidence by Income:

• Workers earning $75K or greater are the most likely to believe the economy is getting stronger, with 32 percent indicating they believe so compared to 25 percent of those earning less than $35K.
• Workers earning between $35K- $49.9K are the least confident in the future of their current employer, with 57 percent expressing confidence; while workers earning $50K- $74.9K are the most optimistic with 68 percent reporting confidence.
• Forty-two percent of workers earning between $35K- $49.9K are likely to look for a new job in the next year. This is the highest reading across all income cohorts.