Administaff Announces Results of Business Confidence Survey

May 12, 2008 5:39 PM EDT

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Nearly 78 percent of owners and managers of small businesses say their companies are either growing as planned or at a faster pace than forecast at the beginning of the year, according to results of a Business Confidence Survey released today by Administaff (NYSE: ASF), a leading provider of human-resources services for small and medium-sized businesses.

Survey respondents also are actively filling open positions with 44 percent saying they are hiring full-time employees and 11 percent planning to bring in part-timers.

Administaff also released compensation data compiled from its client base of more than 6,000 small and medium-sized businesses throughout the country. A comparison of first-quarter data against the same period in 2007 shows that average compensation is up 4.9 percent and average commissions have increased 6.8 percent. In addition, overtime pay is running 9.5 percent of regular pay.

"While many small and medium-sized businesses are doing quite well even in the midst of a challenging economy, others seem dedicated to turning problems into profits wherever possible, and we're committed to helping both reach their goals," said Paul Sarvadi, Administaff chairman and chief executive officer.

The survey also found that business owners and managers are willing to fight to keep valued employees. To do that, more than half of respondents said they are turning to pay increases or providing workers with new challenges or responsibilities.

Overall, over 26 percent of employers plan to increase salaries this year, according to the survey, while 50 percent will maintain current wage levels. Sixty-four percent expect overtime to remain about the same.

    Other highlights of the latest survey:

    --  Nearly 51 percent pointed to competitive salaries as their
        most successful recruiting tool, while 29 percent cited a
        strong benefits package and 12 percent named flexible
        scheduling.

    --  Close to 24 percent plan to fill gaps in their work force by
        outsourcing certain tasks, and more than 30 percent are using
        their current staff to meet additional needs.

More than 60 percent of companies cited the economy as their biggest concern for 2008, followed by 52 percent who said finding ways to control operating costs was a key challenge and 40 percent listed hiring the right employees. Remaining concerns cited by business owners and managers included retaining their most valued employees (contrasted with hiring), rising fuel costs, increased health-care costs and more business competition.

Still, most survey participants expressed a guarded confidence in the current business climate.

"Despite some natural cautiousness about the economy, our growth continues unabated," one business executive wrote in the survey. "We haven't seen any evidence to support the gloom-and-doom predictions."

Another wrote: "Our business is still strong, but I see signs of weakness in other areas. Some people are delaying plans for expansion."

About the Business Confidence Survey

Respondents to the Administaff Business Confidence Survey are among the small and medium-size companies Administaff serves throughout the country. The questions were designed to take the pulse of the small-business community and gauge the expectations of business owners through the remainder of 2008.

Administaff conducted the survey over a five-day period in early May. Researchers surveyed chief executive officers, chief financial officers and other executives in a variety of industries at its client companies across the United States. The overall sampling error is +/- 5 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.

Administaff is the nation's leading professional employer organization (PEO), serving as a full-service human resources department that provides small and medium-sized businesses with administrative relief, big-company benefits, reduced liabilities and a systematic way to improve productivity. The company operates 49 sales offices in 24 major markets. For additional information, visit Administaff's Web site at http://www.administaff.com.

The statements contained herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws (Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934). You can identify such forward-looking statements by the words "expects," "intends," "plans," "projects," "believes," "estimates," "likely," "possibly," "probably," "goal," "objective," "target," "assume," "outlook," "guidance," "predicts," "appears," "indicator" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties. In the normal course of business, Administaff, Inc., in an effort to help keep our stockholders and the public informed about our operations, may from time to time issue such forward-looking statements, either orally or in writing. Generally, these statements relate to business plans or strategies, projected or anticipated benefits or other consequences of such plans or strategies, or projections involving anticipated revenues, earnings, unit growth, profit per worksite employee, pricing, operating expenses or other aspects of operating results. We base the forward-looking statements on our current expectations, estimates and projections. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that we cannot predict. In addition, we have based many of these forward-looking statements on assumptions about future events that may prove to be inaccurate. Therefore, the actual results of the future events described in such forward-looking statements could differ materially from those stated in such forward-looking statements. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are: (i) changes in general economic conditions; (ii) regulatory and tax developments and possible adverse application of various federal, state and local regulations; (iii) increases in health insurance costs and workers' compensation rates and underlying claims trends, financial solvency of workers' compensation carriers and other insurers, state unemployment tax rates, liabilities for employee and client actions or payroll-related claims, changes in the costs of expanding into new markets, and failure to manage growth of our operations; (iv) the effectiveness of our sales and marketing efforts; (v) changes in the competitive environment in the PEO industry, including the entrance of new competitors and our ability to renew or replace client companies; (vi) our liability for worksite employee payroll and benefits costs; and (vii) an adverse final judgment or settlement of claims against Administaff. These factors are discussed in further detail in Administaff's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Any of these factors, or a combination of such factors, could materially affect the results of our operations and whether forward-looking statements we make ultimately prove to be accurate.

Source: Administaff, Inc.

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