Worker Confidence Begins to Rebound Following Difficult Summer
November 02 2005 - 6:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Hudson Employment Index(SM) Rises to 100.5 NEW YORK, Nov. 2
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- U.S. workers regained some of their lost
confidence in October as the Hudson Employment Index(SM) climbed
3.7 points to 100.5. After two consecutive months of energy and
weather- related declines, employee attitudes rose marginally this
month on every key Index measure. Despite the gains, this month's
reading falls short of where it was in the spring and early summer
and is nearly nine points lower than one year ago. Hiring Plans
Return to Annual Median Hiring expectations returned to where they
had been for the first seven months of the year, with 31 percent of
U.S. workers anticipating their firms would hire soon. This is up
from the record low of 29 percent in September. Additionally, job
satisfaction rose for the second straight month as 76 percent of
employees were happy with their jobs, up from 75 percent in
September and 72 percent in August. Personal Finances Improve
Despite Looming Winter After reporting record low optimism in
September, workers' financial concerns have begun to ease. There
was a substantial shift among the percent of workers who believed
their finances were getting worse -- from 47 percent down to 44
percent. The percent stating their situation was improving rose a
point to 37 percent, while 43 percent described their finances
favorably, up from 42 percent. Nevertheless, all the latest numbers
fall quite shy of standings as recently as June and July of this
year. "After the utter devastation of Hurricane Katrina, it's
reassuring to see worker confidence starting to rebuild as hiring
levels have returned to a normal level," said Steve Wolfe,
executive vice president, Hudson, North America. "However,
employers need to recognize the precarious state of their
workforces' finances. With their checkbooks still reeling from
off-the-chart energy prices, workers have high heating bills and
the holidays on the horizon." Optimism was up dramatically among
private sector managers, whose confidence returned to where it had
been prior to September's plummet. Confidence among manufacturing
workers also increased significantly after hitting a record low
last month. In contrast, IT workers were less confident this month,
although more in that sector expected hiring this month. All
Workers All Workers All Workers October 2005 Average 2005 October
2004 Hudson Employment 100.5 101.5 109.3 Index Expect hiring 31%
31% 34% Personal finances 37% 41% 43% improving Personal finances
44% 40% 37% worsening Happy with job 76% 74% 72% *A more detailed
data report is available at http://www.hudson-index.com/. Hudson
recently launched an updated website with easier access to metro
market and occupational sector data. The URL remains
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 November 30, 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 9,513 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 helps clients achieve greater organizational
performance by assessing, recruiting, developing and engaging the
best and brightest people for their businesses. Hudson is a
division of Hudson Highland Group, Inc. one of the world's leading
professional staffing, retained executive search and human capital
solution providers. The company employs more than 3,800
professionals serving clients and candidates in more than 20
countries through its Hudson and Highland Partners businesses. 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, ; or Sarah Kafenstok, Ogilvy Public Relations,
+1-312-397-6025, Web site: http://www.hudson.com/
http://www.hudson-index.com/
Copyright