PHILADELPHIA, May 4, 2004 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Thirty percent of workers in Hong Kong and 24 percent in Switzerland say they could lose their jobs in the coming year, according to a worldwide survey of nearly 10,000 workers in 18 countries conducted by Right Management Consultants. Overall, workers around the globe were slightly more optimistic about the job market and their career prospects than they were when Right last conducted its global Career Confidence Index(TM) survey six months ago.

The findings lifted the overall global Career Confidence Index to 50.0, up from 48.7 six months ago. Individual country results ranged from a low of 42.0 in Hong Kong to a high of 60.2 in Norway.

Workers in Hong Kong and Switzerland were the most concerned about losing their jobs, while workers in Norway and Sweden were the most confident about keeping them. In Norway, 92.9 percent of workers said there was little or no chance they would lose their job in the coming year. Eighty-eight percent of Swedes said the same. The global average for the perceived likelihood of losing a job was 17.1 percent. The average percentage of workers worldwide who said their job was not at risk was 78.6 percent.

When asked how easy or difficult it would be for the average laid-off worker to find comparable work at the same pay, 75 percent or more of workers in 15 of the 18 countries surveyed said it would be somewhat or very difficult. German (93.3 percent) and Swiss (88 percent) workers were the most pessimistic on this question. Koreans were the most confident about finding a new job: 29 percent said it would be somewhat or very easy for a laid-off worker to find a similar-paying job.

"Overall, worker confidence levels around the globe appear to be stronger than they were six months ago," said Richard J. Pinola, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Right. "Even though nine countries registered an improved Index and nine reported a drop, the increases were more significant than were the slight drops."

Countries that registered the most dramatic increases in worker confidence levels were: Ireland (from 44.9 to 49.9), Canada (47.6 to 52.2), the U.K. (45.7 to 50.2), Norway (56.2 to 60.2) and the United States (44.3 to 48.3).

"Despite all the talk about a global economy, the fact is that individual countries move through different economic cycles at different times," Pinola observed. "Europe is a case in point: It is home to the world's most confident workers - the Norwegians - while two other European countries, Germany and Switzerland, have some of the world's most concerned workers."

Norway, home to the world's most confident workers, saw an impressive jump in an already high Career Confidence Index. Ninety-three percent of Norwegians said there was no possibility they would lose their jobs.

"Norwegians are the beneficiaries of a very wealthy, gas-rich economy, low unemployment and generous programs for laid-off workers," said Pinola. "That clearly shows up in their responses."

About the Methodology

The Career Confidence Index(TM) is conducted by Right Management Consultants twice a year to measure career confidence among fulltime workers around the globe. The Index is based on telephone interviews with a random sample of 300-1,000 fulltime workers. These results are based on 9,785 interviews conducted in March and April and have an average error margin of plus or minus three percentage points. Workers in the following countries were surveyed: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. The fieldwork was coordinated by ICR - International Communications Research of Media, Pa.

The Global Career Confidence Index

The Career Confidence Index is based on two questions posed to full-time workers in 18 countries:

    1. What is the possibility of you, yourself, being laid off from your job
       during the next year?
    2. How easy or difficult do you think it would be for the average person
       who was laid off from his or her job to find a similar job at the same
       pay?

The actual Global Career Confidence Index incorporates both sets of responses into a single number. Out of a perfect confidence score of 100, the global Career Confidence Index in April was 50.0, up from the November 2003 index of 48.7. The first global index was calculated in March 2003 at 50.9. In addition to the global index, Right also calculates an index for three regions and one for each of the 18 countries that were surveyed.

About Right Management Consultants

Headquartered in Philadelphia, Right Management Consultants (www.right.com) is the world's largest career transition and organizational consulting firm. It offers services to corporations of all sizes through a global network of more than 300 service locations and the Internet. The company is a worldwide leader in customized career transition solutions and also offers a wide range of organizational consulting services, including talent management, leadership development and organizational performance services. In combination, the two lines of business enable Right to help businesses manage the entire life cycle of their employees. Right is a wholly owned subsidiary of Manpower, Inc. (NYSE: MAN).

SOURCE Right Management Consultants

In U.S., Anne A. Buchanan, APR, +1-610-649-9292, In Europe,
Anne-Marie Boels, 32.2.735 20 98, both for Right Management Consultants

http://www.right.com

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