WAYNE, PA--(Marketwire - April 28, 2010) - Kenexa (
A high level of employee confidence is achieved when employees perceive their organization as being effectively managed and competitively positioned, and believe they have a promising future with their organization, job security and skills that are attractive to other employers. Employee confidence also influences individual behavior and holds implications for organizational performance and economic conditions.
In March 2010, the global employee confidence index score was 93.8, a decrease from the fourth quarter 2009 (98). China (99.8), Italy (98.6) and Canada and Brazil (97.5) reported the highest levels of employee confidence, while France (92.2), Japan (91.8) and the United Kingdom (91) reported the lowest levels. The United States' employee confidence index score was 92.4.
Anne Herman, research consultant, Kenexa Research Institute, said, "In the first quarter of 2010, we see a decline in employee confidence scores across all but one of the 12 countries we track. This can be attributed to employees around the globe feeling less favorable toward their organizations' internal operations including having confidence in the organization's future, believing that the work is being well-led and effectively managed, and believing their organization produces high quality products and services. This trend suggests that employees may have been lenient in their assessment of their organizations' leadership over the past year. Given the length of the recent recession, their patience may be wearing a bit thin and this leniency may not continue into 2010."
For the quarter ending March 31, 2010, the 12 largest economies reported a decrease in employee confidence index scores, with the exception of Spain, which reported an increase for the quarter. Despite reporting some of the highest levels of employee confidence in 2009, Brazil experienced the largest decline in the first quarter 2010, down 10 points from the previous quarter. The score for the United Kingdom also declined by 8.8 points from the fourth quarter of 2009.
Herman continued, "In quarters three and four of 2009, we saw improvements in some countries' Employee Confidence levels; however, we anticipated that such gains would not be attained without genuine consistent improvement jobs markets. Though there was some optimism generated in the U.S. during the first quarter 2010, as the lost job count declined, most of the jobs that were created were related to the employment opportunities generated by the U.S. census. Though these jobs will provide some short-term relief, they won't provide the long-term career opportunities for workers seeking full employment."
"The measurement of employee confidence continues to show robust linkages to important economic indicators," said Rudy Karsan, chief executive officer, Kenexa. "Kenexa's research can be used as a resource to better understand what is happening in global economies and labor markets."
About the Kenexa Employee Confidence Index™
The Kenexa Employee Confidence Index™ (ECI) measures the degree of confidence employees have in their employers' marketplace competiveness and their own careers. The ECI is measured quarterly using opinions from workers in Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom and United States. Kenexa's ECI was started in June 2008 and was normalized for each country to equal 100. Subsequent scores are reported in percents above or below that starting point. Data are available by country, industry, age, gender and job type.
About the Kenexa Composite™
The Kenexa Composite™ is a country-level indicator of economic health and employment conditions. Using a combination of the Kenexa Employee Confidence Index (ECI) and the Kenexa Jobs Index, the Kenexa Composite tracks labor demand and employee optimism in the 12 largest economies, accounting for 70% of the world's GDP.
The Kenexa Jobs Index™ is comprised of a fixed set of Forbes Global 2000 organizations and gauges their hiring activity. These organizations use Kenexa's large-scale recruiting solutions.
About Kenexa
Kenexa® provides business solutions for human resources. We help global organizations multiply business success by identifying the best individuals for every job and fostering optimal work environments for every organization. For more than 20 years, Kenexa has studied human behavior and team dynamics in the workplace, and has developed the software solutions, business processes and expert consulting that help organizations impact positive business outcomes through HR. Kenexa is the only company that offers a comprehensive suite of unified products and services that support the entire employee lifecycle from pre-hire to exit. Additional information about Kenexa and its global products and services can be accessed at www.kenexa.com.