The Mergis Group’s accounting and finance employee confidence index jumped 8.5 points to a reading of 57.8  in the first quarter of 2012, its highest level in four years.

Twenty-one percent of accounting and finance workers believe that job availability has increased, a 7 percentage point improvement from the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, fewer believed the economy was getting weaker. Twenty-one percent believed the economy was getting weaker, down 23 percentage points from the previous quarter.

“We are pleased to see that accounting and finance workers are showing growing optimism in the overall economic landscape and job availability within their industry, and the consistent rise over the past three quarters is certainly encouraging,” said Steve McMahan, executive vice president of Randstad US, Professionals.

The survey was part of a broader survey conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive. Of the 4,341 adults queried, 231 were employed in accounting and finance.