HHGP Hudson Highland Grp., Inc. (MM)

U.S. Employees Upbeat About Job Market in Early 2005 Hudson Employment Index(SM) Rises 2.6 Points in January NEW YORK, Feb. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The outlook on employment conditions among U.S. workers grew more positive in January as the Hudson Employment Index(SM) rose 2.6 points to 106.2. The upward move reflects greater optimism about personal finances, higher job satisfaction and fewer concerns about job cuts. Emerging as the most bullish among all workers polled, 44 percent of private-sector managers expected their firms to hire more workers in the coming months. Simultaneously, there was a three-point decline (19 percent to 16 percent) in the number of workers who reported that their firms are laying off. National hiring expectations held at the same level as December (31 percent). Employee satisfaction rose to an unprecedented high, with three-quarters of U.S. workers claiming that they are happy with their jobs. This figure is four points higher than the highest satisfaction level reported all through 2004. "The employment outlook moving into 2005 looks and feels stronger than at the beginning of last year," said Jeff Anderson, senior vice president, Hudson Global Resources, North America. "January is the best time to be job hunting as many companies have fresh hiring budgets and are eager to add new talent to their teams. Plus, with corporate earnings and spending on the rise, we will likely see continued hiring increases in the short-term." Workers' assessments of personal financial situations also improved over last month. Forty-six percent of workers rated their personal finances as excellent or good in comparison to 43 percent in December, and 45 percent asserted that their own situation is improving versus only 42 percent last month. Men emerged more optimistic than women, with 49 percent rating their personal finances as excellent or good compared to 43 percent of women. Furthermore, 49 percent of men versus 41 percent of women claimed improvement in their personal finances since last month. Percentage of respondents who say their personal finances are improving: Age Age Age All Workers Managers Men Women 30-39 40-49 50-64 Jan'05 45 51 48 41 47 45 41 Dec'04 42 49 47 36 44 42 39 (*) Additional demographic details are available on http://www.hudson-index.com/ Hudson, one of the world's leading professional staffing, outsourcing and human capital solution providers, publishes the Hudson Employment Index, a monthly measure of U.S. workforce confidence in the employment market. Next month's Hudson Employment Index will be released on March 2, 2005. The Hudson Employment Index The Hudson Employment Index (Hudson-Index.com) measures the U.S. workforce's confidence in the employment market. Based upon monthly telephone surveys with approximately 9,000 U.S. workers, the Index tracks aggregate employment trends around career opportunities, hiring intentions, job satisfaction and retention. The data is compiled each month by Rasmussen Reports, LLC, an independent research firm (RasmussenReports.com). Survey results are segmented by eleven metropolitan cities and four industries. The metro markets are: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Tampa, and Washington, D.C. Industry sectors surveyed are accounting and finance, healthcare, information technology, and manufacturing. The Hudson Employment Index also measures employee confidence by age, gender, race and compensation levels. Data reported in this release is based upon a national telephone survey of 9,334 working Americans during the month of January. The margin of sampling error for a survey based upon this many interviews is approximately 1 percent with a 95 percent level of confidence. The data is not seasonally adjusted. It will be reviewed at year-end to determine if seasonal adjustments are appropriate. The Hudson Employment Index is a service mark owned by Hudson Highland Group, Inc. Hudson Hudson delivers specialized professional staffing, outsourcing and human capital solutions worldwide. From single placements to total solutions, the firm assesses, recruits and develops talent to meet the specific business needs of each client. Global practice areas include Accounting & Finance; Engineering, Operations & Scientific; Healthcare; Human Resources; IT & Telecommunications; Legal; and Sales & Marketing. Hudson is a division of Hudson Highland Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HHGP) one of the world's leading professional staffing, retained executive search and human capital solution providers. More information is available at Hudson.com. SPECIAL NOTE: Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for historical information contained herein, the statements made in this release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding the company's strategic direction, prospects and future results. Certain factors including factors outside of our control, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including economic and other conditions in the markets in which we operate, risks associated with acquisitions, competition, seasonality and the other risks discussed in our Form 10-K and our other filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which discussions are incorporated in this release by reference. DATASOURCE: Hudson CONTACT: Jennifer Bernhart, Hudson, +1-813-890-7379, or ; Anshula Ahluwalia, Ogilvy Public Relations, +1-312-397-6074, or , for Hudson Web site: http://www.hhgroup.com/

Copyright