Worker Confidence Index(TM) Increases in Q4 2016 to Highest Level in Two Years

PHILADELPHIA, PA--(Marketwired - Mar 8, 2017) - Led by significant increases in perceived likelihood of a promotion and trust in company leadership, American workers' confidence increased for the fourth consecutive quarter in Q4 2016, according to the national Worker Confidence Index™, a survey of U.S. workers from HRO Today Magazine and Yoh, the leading international talent and outsourcing company owned by Day & Zimmermann. The index gauges workers' perceptions of the four key drivers of worker confidence: perceived likelihood of job loss, likelihood of a promotion, likelihood of a raise, and overall trust in company leadership.

Overall, the index grew from 99.9 in the third quarter to 104.5 in the fourth quarter of 2016. Three of the four key drivers rose marginally, with "perceived likelihood of job loss" the only category that fell, dropping 0.6 points.

"Over the course of the past two years, we've seen that worker confidence correlates quite closely with the health of the financial markets and, increasingly, with the health of the employment market," said Andy Roane, Yoh Vice President of Recruitment Process Outsourcing. "With the most significant increase in 'perceived likelihood of promotion' coming from those under age 35, it should be comforting to HR to see employees are feeling confident in their work environments early in their careers. However, it's critical that companies dedicate the same time and resources to long-term workers as they do to new and prospective employees."

Other takeaways:

• Men are more optimistic than women about the likelihood of promotion (25% versus 15.6%), likelihood of getting a raise of at least 3% (34.2% versus 22.8%), and trust in company leadership (49.4% versus 42%).
  
  
• Only 7.4% of women thought job loss was likely versus 12.7% men. Minorities anticipated job loss more than whites, while the youngest and poorest respondents reported higher concerns about job security.
  
  
• Trust in company leaders is at its highest since the study's inception, with 45.6% indicating they trust leadership. The largest change was among the 18-25 age group, which rose 11.4%.
  
  

Survey Methodology
Each month, HRO Today magazine employs ORC International's CARAVAN® Omnibus Surveys. Approximately 333 interviews are conducted each month. Respondents are age 18+ working full-time in the U.S. Reports are issued based on 1,000 responses per quarter. The four questions asked are: Involuntary Job Loss Possibility, Likelihood of Promotion, Anticipation of a Raise of at least 3% and Trust in Company Leadership.

To view the full report, visit http://www.hrotoday.com/market-intelligence/research/yohs-worker-confidence-index-fourth-quarter-2016/.

ABOUT YOH
For over 70 years, Yoh has provided the talent needed for the jobs and projects critical to our clients' success by providing comprehensive workforce solutions that focus on Aerospace and Defense, Engineering, Federal Services, Health Care, Life Sciences, Information Technology and Telecommunications. Yoh fulfills immediate resource needs and delivers enterprise workforce solutions, including Managed Services, Recruitment Process Outsourcing, Vendor Management Systems, Independent Contractor Compliance, and Payroll Services. For more information, visit Yoh.com.