The Randstad Manufacturing Employee Confidence Index, a measure of overall confidence among U.S. manufacturing workers, hit its highest point in five years, rising this quarter to 50.9. The Index increased 3.9 points from last quarter's reading of 47.0, according to a recent online survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Randstad. 

"Manufacturing is a vital industry to economic recovery and an indicator of the overall health of the economy. Our report shows one of the only increases seen this quarter when compared to others that were surveyed, in addition to the overall Index hitting a high for the first time in five years," said Phyllis Finley, executive vice president at Randstad US. "Despite the little change in job creation seen within the manufacturing industry since April, we remain encouraged to see the rise in worker confidence despite the tepid pace of job creation.

The quarterly survey of 124 workers currently employed in the manufacturing industry found that employees were very confident in their ability to find new jobs, as well as in the future of their current employers.

Q3, 2012 Survey Highlights:

Growing Number of Manufacturing Workers Believe Economy is Picking Up

• Twenty-two percent of manufacturing workers believe the economy is getting stronger, rising eight percentage points from the previous quarter. Meanwhile, the percentage of workers who say the economy is getting weaker dropped from 41 percent to 37 percent.

Jobs Are Scarce, Most Workers Say

• About half (55 percent) of manufacturing workers believe there are fewer opportunities available (versus 53 percent in the second quarter), while only 13 percent believe more jobs are available.

Employees Are Feeling Confident in Their Ability to Find Jobs

• About half (48 percent) of workers are confident in their ability to find employment, a 13 percentage point jump from the previous quarter. A little less than one-third (31 percent) say they are not confident in their ability to find a job this quarter.

Workers Are Increasingly Confident In the Future of Their Current Employers

• The majority of manufacturing workers (64 percent) feel confident in the future of their current employer, up from 56 percent in the previous quarter.

More Workers Likely to Job Search

• Thirty-nine percent of manufacturing workers say they are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months, up from 27 percent the previous quarter.