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/

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