Worker Confidence Drops Sharply in February
March 02 2005 - 6:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Worker Confidence Drops Sharply in February Hudson Employment
Index(SM) Falls 5.0 Points NEW YORK, March 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
-- Confidence among U.S. workers in the employment market fell in
February as the Hudson Employment Index(SM) slid 5.0 points to
102.0, its lowest level in twelve months. The downward move
reflects heightened concerns about layoffs, job security and
personal finances. This month's Index reading is comparable to
February 2004, which recorded the second lowest reading of last
year at 103.7. Job loss fears rose to the highest level in over a
year, with one out of every five (21 percent) surveyed workers
reporting concern about losing his or her own job, compared to 19
percent of workers last month. This figure has risen above 19
percent only once before in December 2003, when it was 20 percent.
Further, the number of workers expecting their firms to lay off
staff in the coming months rose to 18 percent from 16 percent in
January. Anticipated hiring plans held steady at 31 percent.
"Employment growth has been slower than expected and has been
restricted to certain sectors such as services, making U.S. workers
cautious and even pessimistic about the overall job market," said
Jeff Anderson, senior vice president, Hudson Global Resources,
North America. "However, our experience shows that the market has
been experiencing steady, stable growth, indicating that companies
will continue to hire." Despite the overall drop in the Index,
individuals at organizations with 250-500 employees and those
earning annual salaries between $60,000-75,000 displayed surprising
optimism. They emerged more confident about their personal finances
and less concerned about job loss than last month. In contrast,
respondents working for small companies (under 50 employees) were
more concerned about the fate of their jobs and their personal
finances, even though fewer than the national average expected
layoffs in their firms. Twenty-two percent reported job loss
concerns, up from 18 percent last month, and only 43 percent felt
that their personal financial situation is getting better in
comparison to 45 percent last month. (See table below). All Under
50 250-500 Annual Annual Workers Employees Employees Salary Salary
40-60K 60-75K Expect layoffs 18% 14% 19% 16% 16% Are worried about
losing their job 21% 22% 19% 19% 17% Expect personal finances to
improve 44% 43% 51% 46% 52% Confidence in personal finances also
dropped in February, as the percent of workers rating them
favorably fell from 46 to 43 percent. Further, only 44 percent of
workers polled expected their finances to improve compared to 45
percent who shared that sentiment last month. Workers aged 65 years
or older reported the largest drop in confidence towards their
personal finances as the percent expecting improvement in their
situations fell seven points, from 43 percent to 36 percent. The
method for calculating the Hudson Employment Index has been revised
slightly effective with this month's release. The revisions were
based upon a review of data collected over the past year to better
correlate with movements in the labor market. A comparison of the
revised Index numbers with the original calculations is provided at
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 30, 2005. The
Hudson Employment Index The Hudson Employment Index
(http://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 9,349 working Americans
during the month of February. 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 http://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 of Hudson, +1-813-890-7379, ; or Anshula
Ahluwalia of Ogilvy Public Relations, +1-312-397-6074, Web site:
http://hudson.com/ http://hudson-index.com/
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