The Hudson Employment Index(SM) held steady in January as worker confidence decreased by only three-tenths of a point to 89.0. Although some factors contributing to the Index reading improved, worker confidence remains in line with last month's record low. Conversely, the Index registered 103.4 one year ago, more than 14 points above the current reading.

Hudson, a leading provider of permanent recruitment, contract professionals and talent management services worldwide, publishes the Hudson Employment Index, a monthly measure of U.S. worker confidence in the employment market.

Beginning this month, the Hudson Employment Index will be seasonally adjusted. The adjustments will apply to not only the current and future data, but also the historic figures as well. That information can be found online at www.hudson-index.com. By making these changes to the Hudson Employment Index, the data should more accurately reflect workers' perceptions of the job market while taking seasonal trends into account. Any questions or inquiries around the data should be directed to index@hudson.com.

New Year, Same Financial Uneasiness

Just 11 percent of workers rated their finances as "excellent" in January, down one point from December. In addition, only 32 percent said their finances were improving, compared to last month's 33 percent. On the other hand, only 16 percent of workers rated their finances as "poor," a three-point drop from December. The holiday season and its impact on credit card bills contributed to workers' mixed financial emotions in January.

Sixty percent of workers said that holiday expenses would make it more difficult than usual for them to pay their bills this month. Only six percent responded that the holiday season would make bill paying easier in January, likely as a result of their year-end bonuses.

"Normally, the New Year brings some renewed optimism among the work force, but not this year," said Robert Morgan, co-president of Recruitment and Talent Management, Hudson. "Many workers started 2008 faced not only with holiday expenses straining their budgets, but also with a shaky economy that is worrying everyone from politicians to investors alike."

Layoff Expectations Wane in January

Only 16 percent of workers responded that they expected layoffs at their companies in January, compared to 18 percent in December. Consistent with this finding, the number of workers worried about losing their own jobs fell two points to 18 percent. The percent of workers who said their company had plans to add headcount held at 23 percent.

The Hudson Employment Index

The Hudson Employment Index ( www.Hudson-Index.com) is based on monthly telephone surveys with approximately 9,000 U.S. workers. The Index tracks aggregate employment trends regarding career opportunities, hiring intentions, job satisfaction and retention. The data is compiled each month by Rasmussen Reports, LLC, an independent research firm ( www.RasmussenReports.com). Survey results are segmented by 11 cities: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Tampa-St. Petersburg, and Washington, D.C. The Index surveys five occupational sectors: accounting and finance, health care, information technology, manufacturing and legal.

The Hudson Employment Index also measures employee confidence by age, gender, race and compensation. Data reported in this release is based on a national telephone survey of 9,014 working Americans during the month of January. The margin of sampling error for a survey based on this number of interviews is approximately +/-1 percent with a 95 percent level of confidence. The Hudson Employment Index is a service mark owned by Hudson Highland Group, Inc.

Hudson

Hudson is a leading provider of permanent recruitment, contract professionals and talent management services worldwide. From single placements to total outsourced solutions, Hudson helps clients achieve greater organizational performance by assessing, recruiting, developing and engaging the best and brightest people for their businesses. The company employs more than 3,600 professionals serving clients and candidates in more than 20 countries. More information is available at www.hudson.com.