Concern with their personal finances left Los Angeles workers feeling less confident about the job market in March than their colleagues nationwide, according to a new survey. It was the third consecutive month that the confidence of L.A. workers lagged behind the national average.

The Hudson Employment Index, which gauges workers’ confidence in the employment outlook, gave L.A. a 104.7 rating, one-and-a-half points lower than the month before and one-and-a-half points lower the national reading of 106.2, which slid two points. March’s reading for Los Angeles was more than six points lower than December 2005’s record high and well above March 2005’s 92.7.

The national reading for March was one of the strongest on record, Hudson said.

The decline in local sentiment regarding personal finances led to the drop in L.A.’s overall confidence, as workers rating their finances favorably fell three points to 43 percent. The national figures rose three points to 46 percent.

There were some positive numbers. After two months of declining optimism, the number of local workers expecting their firms to hire rose three points to 32 percent in March. Nationally, that figure fell one point to 32 percent. The number of L.A. workers anticipating that their firms would resort to layoffs slid two points in March to 16 percent. National figures dropped one percent and were also at 16 percent.

Statewide, workers rating their situations favorably fell three points from the month before to 47 percent and there was a two-point increase to 33 percent in the number of workers expecting their employers to hire.

The state with the highest worker confidence rating was Florida, with 130.7.

A rating above the baseline of 100 means the economy and marketplace of the area is better than it was in December 2003, when Hudson first released the index; below 100 means the area’s economy is worse than in December 2003.