The Mergis Group’s accounting and finance employee confidence index fell 5.2 points to a reading of 52.6 in the second quarter of 2012, after reaching its highest level in four years during Q1.

Twenty-one percent of accounting and finance workers believe that job availability has increased, unchanged from the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, 38 percent of respondents believed the economy was getting weaker, up 17 percentage points from the previous quarter.

“The decline in employee confidence during the second quarter appears to be in response to global economic uncertainty emanating from Europe as opposed to material deterioration in personal economic conditions," said Steve McMahan, executive vice president of Randstad US, Professionals. "This would seem to be borne out by the fact that slightly more workers feel secure in their current positions. Steady improvements are being made in the finance and accounting labor market and the longer term outlook is bright.”

The survey was part of a broader survey conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive. Of the 3,790 adults queried, 184 were employed in accounting and finance.