Confidence in the economy plummeted nearly 17 points in June among Florida workers, the largest decline in the nation, according to the Hudson Employment Index.

Florida's workers confidence rating dropped to 97.7 from 114.3 in May. Across the country, worker confidence dropped 5.7 points to 101.2 from 106.9 in May. June's rating is the lowest reading in nine months.

In Florida, workers who said their financial situation was improving fell nearly four points to 36.4 percent, while the number of workers who believe their finances are getting worse saw an eight-point increase to 42.6 percent. It's the first time since July 2006 that more Florida workers have been pessimistic about their finances than optimistic.

Nationwide, the number of workers who said their employer had plans to hire fell three percentage points to 30 percent in June. Simultaneously, the number of workers concerned about losing their job rose one point to 19 percent, the highest level since September 2006.

"It appears worker sentiment caved under the pressure of the weak housing market, high energy prices and inconsistent job growth," says Robert Morgan, president of Hudson Talent Solutions. "Add in the slow summer hiring season and low unemployment was just no longer able to bolster worker confidence."

Confidence among managers, particularly those in the private sector, sagged in June as hiring expectations diminished. The index readings for employees who earn more than $75,000 per year also declined.

The Hudson Employment Index is based on monthly telephone surveys with approximately 9,000 U.S. workers. The index tracks aggregate employment trends regarding career opportunities, hiring intentions, job satisfaction and retention. The data is compiled each month by Rasmussen Reports LLC, an independent research firm.

Survey results are segmented by 11 cities: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Tampa, and Washington, D.C. The Index surveys five occupational sectors: accounting and finance, health care, information technology, manufacturing and legal.

Data collected in June is based on a national telephone survey of 9,046 working Americans. The margin of sampling error for a survey based on this number of interviews is approximately plus or minus 1 percent with a 95 percent level of confidence. The data is not seasonally adjusted.

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