Employee confidence near annual high

The Hudson Employment Index, a measurement of the U.S. workforce's confidence in the employment market, rebounded 1.6 points in October as hiring expectations among U.S. workers strengthened and job-loss fears declined to the lowest level of the year. In climbing to 108.5, the Index regained most of September's 2.0 point decline and approached its annual high of 108.9, set in August.

Hiring expectations of both workers and managers rose two points in October, to 34 percent and 35 percent respectively. Thirty-nine percent of private-sector employees expect their employers to add staff, a value maintained for the previous five months.

After holding at 17 percent or higher for eight consecutive months, the percentage of U.S. workers expecting layoffs fell to 16 percent in October, its second lowest reading of the year. Workers reported no improvements in their personal finances, but fewer—37 percent in October versus 39 percent in September—said their financial situations worsened.