NEW YORK, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - The Hudson Employment Index(SM) continued its ascent in July, reaching a record high of 108.4 for the year and surpassing all previous ratings for the second month in a row. The increase in the Index over the last couple of months indicates that the outlook for the employment market is firmly upbeat among U.S. workers. The Index posted an increase of .5 points, from 107.9 last month.

Workers continued to report confidence in their personal financial situations despite a slight drop in the hiring they anticipate at their companies. 45 percent of workers now say their personal finances are getting better. That's an improvement from 43 percent a month ago and 40 percent the month before. The percentage of workers reporting hiring at their companies fell just one point from June to 33 percent. This figure has held relatively steady since the end of the first quarter. The percentage of managers who say their companies are hiring fell two points to 34 percent from last month's reading which was the highest of the year.

"U.S. workers continue to be optimistic about their personal finances and are confident that their employers have steady hiring plans. Based on the momentum in employee confidence that we have seen in the last six months, this is positive news, even in the midst of the traditionally slow hiring season," said Jeff Anderson, senior vice president of Hudson Global Resources.

Percentage of respondents who say their companies are hiring in coming months

                               Dec '03  Jan '04  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul
     All Workers                  29       31     31   33   33   32   34   33
     Managers                     32       33     32   35   35   33   36   34
     Private-Sector Employees     32       36     36   38   39   39   39   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 September 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 (RasmussenReports.com).

Data reported in this release is based upon a national telephone survey of 8,854 working Americans during the month of June. 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.

SOURCE Hudson
08/04/2004

CONTACT: Jennifer Bernhart of Hudson, +1-813-890-7379, or jennifer.bernhart@hudson.com; or Anshula Ahluwalia of Ogilvy Public Relations, +1-312-397-6074, or anshula.ahluwalia@ogilvypr.com, for Hudson

Web site: http://www.hhgroup.com
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