HHGP Hudson Highland Grp., Inc. (MM)

NEW YORK, Oct. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Hudson Employment Index(SM) decreased to 100.5 in September, the lowest reading so far this year. A drop in both expected hiring and job satisfaction influenced the 2.4-point decline. Nevertheless, the latest reading is well above the 96.8 recorded last September, when the country was coping with the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Notably, the percentage of workers expecting their employers to add staff fell two points from August to 29 percent. This is the least optimistic workers have been about their companies' hiring plans since last September. There was also a one-point drop to 74 percent among workers happy with their job. On a positive note, the number of workers anticipating job cuts held steady at 15 percent. Perceptions around finances also remained stable for the most part, although there was an encouraging two-point drop to 40 percent among workers who said their financial situation was getting worse. "Our research finds that much of corporate America is seeing a slowdown in job growth, which is echoed by reports coming out of the Bureau of Labor Statistics," said Steve Wolfe, senior vice president, Hudson. "However, unchanged expectations around layoffs indicate that the slowing is simply that. Most employers are not reversing their course of action by letting people go." Private enterprise workers also reported declines in expected hiring and job satisfaction. Each factor saw a three-point drop, hiring to 33 percent and job satisfaction to 70 percent. However, government employees and entrepreneurs did not mirror those sentiments. In fact, their perceptions of job satisfaction and hiring expectations showed improvement. Private Government Enterprise All Workers All Workers Workers Workers Sept 2006 Aug 2006 Sept 2006 Sept 2006 Hudson Employment Index 100.5 102.9 104.5 96.4 Expected Hiring 29% 31% 31% 33% Expected Layoffs 15% 15% 15% 17% Happy at Work 74% 75% 77% 70% *A more detailed data report is available at http://www.hudson-index.com/. Hudson, one of the world's leading professional staffing, outsourcing and talent management solutions providers, publishes the Hudson Employment Index, a monthly measure of U.S. worker confidence in the employment market. Results are not seasonally adjusted. Next month's Hudson Employment Index will be released on November 1. The Hudson Employment Index The Hudson Employment Index (Hudson-Index.com) is based on monthly telephone surveys with approximately 9,000 U.S. workers. The Index tracks aggregate employment trends regarding career opportunities, hiring intentions, job satisfaction and retention. The data is compiled each month by Rasmussen Reports, LLC, an independent research firm (http://www.rasmussenreports.com/). Survey results are segmented by 11 cities: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Tampa, and Washington, D.C. The Index surveys five occupational sectors: accounting and finance, health care, information technology, manufacturing and legal. The Hudson Employment Index also measures employee confidence by age, gender, race and compensation. Data reported in this release is based on a national telephone survey of 9,160 working Americans during the month of September. The margin of sampling error for a survey based on this number of 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. About Hudson Hudson (NASDAQ:HHGP) is a leading provider of management recruitment, contract professionals and talent management services worldwide. From single placements to total outsourced solutions, Hudson helps clients achieve greater organizational performance by assessing, recruiting, developing and engaging the best and brightest people for their businesses. The company employs more than 3,600 professionals serving clients and candidates in more than 20 countries. More information is available at http://www.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: Sarah Kafenstok of Hudson, +1-312-795-4202, ; Anshula Ahluwalia of Ogilvy Public Relations, +1-312-397-6074, Web site: http://www.hudson-index.com/ http://www.hudson.com/ http://www.rasmussenreports.com/

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