Engineering Professionals Remain Confident about Jobs
ATLANTA -- The Randstad Engineering Employee Confidence Index, a measure of overall confidence among U.S. engineers, fell below 60 for the first time since the second quarter of 2013, declining from 63.6 to 59.8 this quarter. However, confidence levels remain high when compared with those of the other industries surveyed.
The index indicated a loss of confidence in engineers' own personal job security, dropping from 84% in the first quarter to 72% in the second quarter. In addition, the Personal Confidence Index for engineering workers dropped more than five percentage points, to 72.6% from 77.8% last quarter.
When it comes to the job market, many engineers appear more neutral on the subject; 42% said they were indifferent about the availability of jobs, and 34% said they are indifferent about their ability to find a new job.
"Although we saw declines across most of the confidence index measures, it is important to point out that engineers still maintain the highest overall confidence level across all professions surveyed," said Richard Zambacca, president of Randstad Engineering. "We also believe our findings support a general move toward engineers being more selective when considering other job opportunities. There's a trend among engineers to seek out opportunities or maximize on positions that will allow for the development of new skills, drive career advancement, give them opportunities to cross train and lend to overall self-improvement."
Other highlights of the survey:
- 51% of engineers feel confident in their ability to find a new job, a 15 percentage-point decline from the first quarter. And, 34% remain neutral on their ability to find a new job this quarter.
- 72% of engineers feel it unlikely they will lose their job over the next 12 months, a 12 percentage point decline from the first quarter. However, engineers continue to have one of the highest levels of job security among professions surveyed by Randstad.
- 32% of engineers reported they are likely to look for a new job within the next 12 months versus 29% in the first quarter. Meanwhile, only 21% believe more jobs are available, a 14-point decline from last quarter.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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