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Confidence indexes rise for US manufacturing, clerical workers

May 21, 2014

Confidence levels among U.S. manufacturing and logistics workers rebounded in the first quarter of 2014 while office and administrative worker confidence also edged up in the quarter, according to Randstad.

The Randstad manufacturing and logistics employee confidence index rose to a reading of 50.5 in the first quarter from 48.0 in the fourth quarter of 2013. Additionally, 63 percent of manufacturing workers feel it is unlikely they will lose their jobs in the next 12 months, up from 59 percent last quarter.

“Despite the slowdown of the manufacturing sector early in the year due to winter weather challenges, the industry is beginning to show signs of anticipated growth in 2014,” said Traci Fiatte, group president, Randstad Staffing.

Manufacturing and logistics workers who feel there are fewer jobs available fell to 50 percent in the first quarter from 55 percent in the previous quarter, and the percentage who believe there are more jobs available rose four percentage points to 25 percent.

Those workers in the sector who feel it is likely they will lose their current jobs dropped to 13 percent from 26 percent in in the fourth quarter; 63 percent feel it is unlikely they will lose their jobs. One out of three said they are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months, and 39 percent of workers feel confident in their ability to find new employment.

The index is based on an online survey of 169 manufacturing and logistics employees within the U.S. conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Randstad during January, February and March of 2014.

Clerical worker confidence

The first-quarter Randstad US’ office and administration confidence index edged up to 51.3 from 47.6 in the fourth quarter.

“As evidenced by the incredibly high level of job security among office and administrative workers, companies are increasingly relying upon these professionals to efficiently and effectively run key functions of their business,” said Traci Fiatte, group president, Randstad Staffing. “In fact, according to the most recent International Association of Administrative Professionals’ benchmarking survey, 67 percent of these workers are responsible for key purchasing decisions within their respective companies and the average value of corporate purchasing decisions made by each administrative professional is $20,000.”

Randstad anticipates increased need for secretaries and other office professionals within the medical sector due to healthcare reform.

“Additional administrative support will be needed to handle added tasks related to healthcare reform, such as billing, insurance processes and federal reimbursement paperwork,” Fiatte said. “According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of medical secretaries is projected to grow 36 percent between 2012 and 2022, much faster than the average for all other occupations.”

Twenty percent of office and administrative workers believe more jobs are available in the marketplace, up from 13 percent in the fourth quarter.

Thirty-seven percent feel it is likely they will look for a new job in the next year, an increase of six percentage points from the previous quarter; 37 percent also said they are confident in their ability to find new jobs, increasing two percentage points from the fourth quarter of 2014.

The index is based on an online survey within the U.S. of 376 U.S. office and administrative workers conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Randstad in January, February and March of 2014.