Texas Jobs, Confidence Decline

A new report found that workers with Texas jobs (Click here) aren't as confident as they once were at the same time it was announced that the state's unemployment rate has increased.

The monthly Texas Employee Confidence Index decreased by 3.1 percent in September to 50.6. The index, which is conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Spherion Corp., shows that workers in Texas are not as confident about the future as they once were.

Kim Lockhart, regional vice president for Spherion in Texas, told the Houston Business Journal that more workers are becoming concerned about their ability to find a new job ore secure their current position. The index found that only 43 percent of workers are confident they could find a new job, compared to 54 percent during August.

About 51 percent of workers said it is unlikely they would look for a new job during the next year, which is down from 60 percent during August. While 30 percent of Texas workers believe the economy is getting stronger, 34 percent believe it is still getting weaker.

On a positive note, 69 percent of workers said they think it is unlikely they will lose their jobs, compared to 80 percent during August.

“Until we see some definitive evidence of job growth and corporate confidence, we are likely to see our index bump around a bit in the months to come,” Lockhart said.

To add to the low confidence level, the Texas Workforce Commission announced today that the state unemployment rate increased to 8.2 percent during September as 44,700 jobs were lost. Texas has lost jobs every month during the past year and during August, the unemployment rate reached 8 percent for the first time in 22 years.