Spherion Corp.'s (NYSE: SFN) employee confidence index slipped 1.3 points to an index level of 46.7 in July as fewer workers believed the economy is getting stronger and the percentage of workers confident in their ability to find a new job declined.

Sixteen percent of workers felt the economy was getting stronger in July, down from 20% in June, according to the survey for the index. And only 39% of workers were confident in their ability to find a new job, down from 42% in June.

Still, the index is up year over year from the July 2008 reading of 45.2.

The survey questioned 2,715 employed adults in the U.S.