Good news is addictive. It gives you a high that lasts; not like bad news, which leaves you stranded because it presents you with no final goal to focus on.

Once you have made the switch there seems to be no going back, and I find myself experiencing GNR, Good News Radar.

The latest source of satisfaction is the New York Employee Confidence Index which in January actually rose. It rebounded 9.6 points to 45.5. This discovery led me to The Texas Employee Confidence Index which also increased, by 2.8 points to 48.5, and the California Employee Confidence Index which rose 5.5 points to 43.2.

Finally, my online travels led me to the overall survey which increased 2.3 points to 42.7 in January, from December’s survey low of 40.4. Not every state in America experienced this lift but the overall results suggest that:

* More workers believed that they are unlikely to lose their jobs
* More workers were confident in the future of their current employers
* More workers were confident in their ability to find a new job
* Fewer workers believed fewer jobs are available
* More workers reported that they were likely to look for a job in the next twelve months

The whole survey is issued by Spherion Employment Report and consists of a monthly survey of workers, which is conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Spherion Corporation

Something told these workers that their ability to find a new job was higher than it was late last year. It is not known exactly what these factors are, but it is a little light at the end of the tunnel.




While I am in a good news framework, and my Good News Radar is working effectively, I have to recognize that bad news is informative too. So I looked for something that would burst my own bubble, a data point that would undermine my positive assumptions. I found it very easily.

The good news in the January Spherion Report is negated by the recently issued February report, which indicates that the gains in January have been lost. The index fell by 2.6 points.

For those who want to wallow in the pain, here are the specifics for February.

Confidence in Macroeconomic Environment:

* Only six percent of workers believe the economy is getting stronger, down from seven percent in January. At the same time, 70 percent believe the economy is getting weaker, up from 67 percent in January.

* Seventy-nine percent of U.S. adult workers believe there are fewer jobs available, an increase of three percentage points from the previous month.

Confidence in Personal Employment Situation:

* Sixty-three percent of U.S. adult workers feel confident in the future of their current employer, down four percentage points from January.

* The percentage of U.S. adult workers confident in their ability to find a new job decreased four percentage points to 38 percent in February.

Job Security:

* Seventy-one percent of U.S. workers say it is unlikely they will lose their jobs in the next year, decreasing one percentage point from January.

Job Transition:

* Thirty-three percent of workers are likely to look for a new job in the next year compared to 34 percent in the previous month.

Confidence by Gender:

* The percentage of female workers reporting that the economy is getting weaker increased six percentage points to 74 percent In February.

* More male workers believe job availability decreased month-over-month. Specifically, 78 percent of male workers believe fewer jobs are available compared to 73 percent in January.

* When asked how confident they are in the future of their current employer, 62 percent of males and 63 percent of females responded that they are confident. This is down from 66 percent and 67 percent, respectively, last month.

Confidence by Age:

* For the third consecutive month, workers between the ages of 18 and 34 years old are the most likely to look for a new job in the next year, with 48 percent reporting that they are likely to do so. Only 26 percent of workers age 45-54 are likely to job search in the next 12 months.

* Forty percent of workers age 45-54 are confident in their ability to find a new job — the highest across all age groups.

* Responses across all age groups decreased for the survey question on worker confidence in the future of their current employer. Out of all age groups, workers between 35 and 44 years old reported the biggest decrease in optimism, with 57 percent reporting optimism compared to 66 percent in January.

Confidence by Income:

* Forty-three percent of workers earning less than $35K are likely to look for a new job in the next year, compared to 27 percent of workers earning $75K and over.

* Eighty-two percent of workers earning $75K and over believe fewer jobs are available, compared to 72 percent of workers earning less than $35K.

* At the same time, although workers earning $75K have more doubts about job availability, they are also more confident than all other income groups in their ability to find a new position.