When your list has many formulas, or if a cell in the list is changed
after a filter has been applied, the Status Bar may show "Filter Mode"
instead of a count of the visible records. You can use the Subtotal
function to count the visible rows.

The following MSKB article has information:

XL2000: Excel AutoFilter Status Bar Message Shows "Filter Mode"
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?id=213886

And there are a couple of workarounds he
http://www.contextures.com/xlautofilter02.html#Count


Debbie Thompson wrote:
When using autofilter in Excel most people receive a record count in the
lower left corner stating how many items were included in the filter (ex: 7
of 15). This feature does not work on my computer most of the time and it
does on my associates machines. We can't figure our why? Any assistance
would be appreciated.


--
Debra Dalgleish
Excel FAQ, Tips & Book List
http://www.contextures.com/tiptech.html