Overall IT worker confidence index drops: Survey

FORT LAUDERDALE, USA: The IT Employee Confidence Index dropped 7.6 points to 50.6 in the third quarter of 2010, according to a recent survey commissioned by Technisource, the technology services division of SFN Group, Inc.

The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, shows a quick reversal in IT worker confidence in the strength of the economy, with optimism around this question dropping 18 percentage points from the second quarter of 2010. Coupled with this decrease, 56 percent of technology workers believe fewer jobs are available (versus 49 percent in the previous quarter).

Results from the IT employment report:

* A scant 20 percent of technology workers believe the economy is getting stronger (compared to 38 percent in the second quarter). Nearly half (47 percent) of workers believing the economy is staying the same.

* More than half of the respondents believe there are fewer jobs available (56 percent). At the same time, 43 percent of IT workers are confident in their ability to find a new job.

Thirty-eight percent of technology workers are likely to search for job opportunities in the next 12 months, up a single percentage point from the second quarter of 2010 and the highest since the fourth quarter of 2009.

"All in all, the mixed results from this quarter's IT employment report is not surprising given the recent headlines of the economy's uneven recovery. Despite the drop, our data still shows that the majority of workers remain quite confident in their own job security, the future of their current employer and in their ability to find a new job," said Michael Winwood, president of Technisource.

He added, "The rise in both workers personal job security and likeliness of transitioning to a new job indicate that although workers feel secure in their current positions, they are keeping their eyes open for potential new ones. This should serve as a warning to employers that have forgone retention efforts over the last year. Doing so will likely hamper employer's ability to compete once the economy makes a full recovery."

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