Worker confidence among accounting and finance professionals fell to the low point for 2006 in December -- just a month after hitting a record high.
According to the Hudson Employment Index, less optimism around personal finances and hiring expectations, combined with fewer workers satisfied with their jobs, prompted the confidence decline -- as the index dropped 11.2 points, to 106.0.
Despite the decline, worker confidence was still two points higher than a year ago, when the group’s index registered 103.9.
The accounting and finance worker index also revealed:
- 29 percent of workers expected their company to hire, down from 35 percent in November;
- The number of workers rating their finances favorably decreased from 58 percent in November, to 53 percent in December; and,
- The number of workers describing themselves as happy at work dropped from 77 percent in November, to 72 percent in December.
The national index, which measures employee confidence monthly in a survey of approximately 9,000 workers across all industries, also fell in December, dropping 2.6 points, to 102.7. The national index closed 2006 with a 103.7 average, compared to an average of 101.5 in 2005.On a side note, last month, a Hudson survey found that 39 percent of workers were very, or somewhat likely, to look for a new job in 2007.
