Worker confidence among accounting and finance professionals fell in September, as the group’s Hudson Employment Index declined 6.3 points, to 106.2. A significant drop in hiring expectations and job satisfaction contributed to the decline. The latest reading for accounting and finance workers is close to last September, when the index was slightly higher, at 107.5, even in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The national index, which measures employee confidence monthly in a survey of approximately 9,000 workers across all industries, also fell in September, dropping 2.4 points, to 100.5.
- Only three in 10 employees (29 percent), expected their company to hire in September, down a substantial eight points from the previous month. There was also a three-point increase, to 18 percent, among workers anticipating layoffs;
- While 74 percent of professionals were happy at work in September, that was down three percentage points from August; and,
- The number of workers who rated their finances as excellent slipped from 18 percent in August, to 16 percent last month.
