In the second quarter of 2012, employees displayed continued resilience in the recession’s aftermath, according to research conducted by Financial Finesse. However, the report concludes with strong concerns that employees’ focus won’t be enough to adequately protect them in the event of another economic downturn.

Here are key findings from the Q2 2012 report:

• There is a continued trend towards proactivity as employees seek more control of their finances in advance of a crisis or problem in order to improve their financial security. Seventy-four percent of questions received by the company’s team of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER(tm) professionals were proactive in nature, up from 69 percent in Q2 2011, 66 percent in Q2 2010, and 59 percent in Q2 2009.
• Employees are also focusing more on retirement planning than in previous years. Retirement planning is employees’ top financial priority across most age and income groups. In addition, retirement planning questions made up 32 percent of total questions received by the company’s financial planners in Q2 2012, up from 25 percent in Q2 2011, 20 percent in Q2 2010, and 14 percent in Q2 2009.
• Despite the increased focus on proactive financial and retirement planning issues, many employees are still vulnerable to a double-dip recession without strong cash reserves or sufficient credit to get through layoffs or other financial emergencies. Year to date, forty-two percent of employees are uncomfortable with their debt levels, 51 percent do not have an emergency savings account, and 84 percent are under financial stress.

Source: Financial Finesse; www.FinancialFinesse.com.