New research reveals Americans are still confident about their job security and rank health insurance as a key factor for choosing an employer.

Nearly 85% of U.S. workers place health care coverage as the top benefit that influences accepting a job offer, while 82% rank job security and clear workplace policies and procedures, reports the Center for State and Local Government Excellence.

The Washington, D.C.-based center focuses on the employment practices of state and local governments. The study surveyed 1,200 adults age 18 and older.

Other benefits that may persuade job candidates to accept an offer include retirement and pension plans (76%) and a flexible, family-friendly workplace (71%). Pay, however, ranked tenth with only 65% saying it's a key driver in deciding on an employer.

Workers also believe state and local government jobs provide better benefits, job security and a chance to make a contribution to society, researchers note. Employees, however, see private sector employment as offering better opportunities for innovation, greater chances to work with the best people and better opportunities for promotion, they explain. Respondents are divided on which sector provides the best compensation.

Meanwhile, in December, 78% of workers believe they will not lose their jobs in the next 12 months, a decrease of one percentage point from November, according to the Employee Confidence Index by the Spherion Corp., a Florida-based recruiting and staffing company.

Overall, the Index shows workers remain confident about their own employment situation, but less optimistic about the economy.

For instance, 64% of workers express a positive outlook about the future of their current employer, an increase of three percentage points since November. Yet, only 19% of workers note there are more jobs available, compared to 20% the previous month, Spherion reports. The percentage of employees who think the economy is getting stronger remains unchanged at 12%.

"The data also shows that nearly a third of workers plan on finding a new job in the next year, indicating that this certainly isn't the time for employers to ease up on their retention and recruiting efforts," says Roy Krause, president and CEO of Spherion. "It's those employers who make the extra effort now to be recognized as an employer of choice who will reap the benefits from having top talent in the years to come," he adds.