HHGP Hudson Highland Grp., Inc. (MM)

Employee Confidence Rebounds in October Hudson Employment Index(SM) Jumps 1.6 Points, Nears Annual High New York, Nov. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Hudson Employment Index(SM) rebounded 1.6 points in October as hiring expectations among U.S. workers strengthened and job-loss fears declined to the lowest level of the year. In climbing to 108.5, the Index regained most of September's 2.0 point decline and approached its annual high of 108.9, set in August. The hiring expectations of both workers and managers rose two points in October, to 34 percent and 35 percent respectively. Optimism about hiring among private-sector employees regained the point lost in September. Once again, 39 percent said they expect their employers to add staff, a value maintained for the previous five months. After holding at 17 percent or higher for eight consecutive months, the percentage of U.S. workers expecting layoffs fell to 16 percent in October, its second lowest reading of the year. Workers reported no improvements in their personal finances, but fewer -- 37 percent in October versus 39 percent in September -- said their financial situation worsened. "In the weeks leading up to the election, U.S. workers expressed a vote of confidence in employment market conditions," said Jeff Anderson, senior vice president of Hudson Global Resources. "Even though workers remain strongly divided over the state of the economy and choice of leadership, we expect companies to making hiring plans contingent upon overall business circumstances, not which candidate takes office." Percentage of respondents who say their companies are hiring in coming months: Dec Jan '03 '04 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct All Workers 29 31 31 33 33 32 34 33 33 32 34 Managers 32 33 32 35 35 33 36 34 34 33 35 Private- Sector Employees 32 36 36 38 39 39 39 39 39 38 39 Hudson, one of the world's leading professional staffing, outsourcing and human capital solution providers, publishes the Hudson Employment Index, a monthly measure of the U.S. workforce's confidence in the employment market. Next month's Hudson Employment Index will be released on December 1, 2004. 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 Index is compiled each month by Rasmussen Reports, LLC, an independent research firm (http://www.rasmussenreports.com/). Data reported in this release is based upon a national telephone survey of 9,012 working Americans during the month of October. 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://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: Jennifer Bernhart of Hudson, +1-813-890-7379, ; Anshula Ahluwalia of Ogilvy Public Relations, +1-312-397-6074, Web site: http://www.hhgroup.com/

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