The Accounting and Finance Employee Confidence Index, a measure of overall confidence among U.S. accounting and finance workers, slipped 2.1 points to 50.0 in the second quarter of 2011, according to a recent survey of 3,833 U.S. adults among which 183 are employed in Accounting and Finance commissioned by The Mergis Group®, the professional placement division of SFN Group, Inc. The survey, conducted online by Harris Interactive®, reveals that fewer workers are confident in the strength of the economy and in the future of their current employer.

Results from the Accounting & FinanceEmployment Report:

• Fewer accounting and finance workers are confident in the strength of the economy. Specifically, 23 percent of workers expressed confidence in the second quarter of 2011, as compared to 29 percent who were optimistic in the previous quarter.
• Fifty-six percent of accounting and finance workers are confident in the future of their current employer, down nine percentage points from the previous quarter.
• Fewer accounting and finance workers are likely to make a job transition in the next 12 months. Thirty-one percent indicated that they were likely to look for a new position in the second quarter of the year, versus 36 percent who were likely to look for a new job in the first quarter of the year.

"In comparison to the first few months of the year, accounting and finance workers were noticeably less confident during the second quarter of 2011, evident in the decline of our latest index," statedBrendan Courtney, president of The Mergis Group. "The road toward economic recoverywill certainly not happen overnight. The workforce is looking for consistent growth in our economy, and without that, confidence levels may ebb and flow. Althoughour Index has seemingly lostsome of the momentum seen in 2010, weare encouraged that the Indexcontinues to remain well abovethe levels seen during the recession."