HHGP Hudson Highland Grp., Inc. (MM)

Employee Confidence Reaches Annual Low in December Hudson Employment Index(SM) Drops 1.3 Points; Annual Comparison Reveals Greater Optimism Heading Into New Year NEW YORK, Jan. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Hudson Employment Index(SM) fell 1.3 points in December to 103.6, its lowest reading of 2004. Key attributing factors included a drop in worker ratings of personal finances and increased expectations of staff cuts. However, the Index has risen 3.6 points year over year, reflecting an overall improvement in worker outlook compared to December 2003. While national hiring expectations held at the same level as the previous month (31 percent), optimism about hiring among private-sector employees declined two points to 35 percent in December. Still, both of these figures reflect increases over last year's levels. Men were significantly more confident about their companies' hiring plans than women (34 percent vs. 26 percent), as were higher earners. Only 27 percent of employees earning between $20,000-$40,000 a year anticipated increased hiring in their firms, compared to 46 percent of employees earning over $100,000 a year. The percentage of U.S. workers who expect staff layoffs and those worried about losing their own jobs both increased a percentage point to 19 percent in December. By comparison, a year ago, 17 percent expected layoffs and 20 percent were worried about losing their own jobs. The percentage of workers rating their personal finances as excellent or good dropped two points to 43 percent. Further, 37 percent of workers reported that their finances are getting worse, a one-point increase since November. While ratings are generally higher than last year, signaling increased prosperity, the outlook for personal finances is more pessimistic than a year ago. Percentage of respondents who say their companies are hiring in coming months: Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec '03 '04 All Workers 29 31 31 33 33 32 34 33 33 32 34 31 31 Managers 32 33 32 35 35 33 36 34 34 33 35 32 33 Private- Sector Employees 32 36 36 38 39 39 39 39 39 38 39 37 35 "Despite the fact that the workforce has lowered its hiring expectations and has lingering financial concerns, future employment prospects look promising," said Jeff Anderson, senior vice president, Hudson Global Resources, North America. "The number of workers expecting their next jobs to be better increased two percentage points in the last month -- and six in the last year -- which means that workers still feel there is room for personal career improvement." Starting this month, the Hudson Employment Index will measure geographic employee confidence in six new cities: Atlanta, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Philadelphia, Tampa and Washington, D.C. It currently segments local market job confidence in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York, and San Francisco. The Hudson Employment Index will also measure employee confidence segmented by age, gender, race and compensation levels. 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 February 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 Index is compiled each month by Rasmussen Reports, LLC, an independent research firm (RasmussenReports.com). Data reported in this release is based upon a national telephone survey of 9,224 working Americans during the month of December. 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 of Hudson, +1-813-890-7379, ; or Anshula Ahluwalia of Ogilvy Public Relations, +1-312-397-6074, for Hudson Web site: http://www.hhgroup.com/

Copyright