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Increase in Hiring of Middle Managers and Profesionals Projected for First Half of 2005

(Zurich) January 2005—The first half of the year should see a healthy number of new hires in the managerial and professional segment of the work force, according to the latest survey by Management Recruiters International (MRI), the world's largest search and recruitment organization. The study, which was comprised of personal interviews with executives responsible for the hiring of middle management and professional staff at their organizations, included contacts in major industry sectors.

Of the 224 executives interviewed for the study, 31.4% percent indicated plans to make additions to their staffs during the first half of 2005, and 59.6% percent plan to maintain their current staff sizes. Only 9 percent plan to decrease staff.

"Our study demonstrates optimism about the state of the Swiss economy," said Allen Salikof, president and CEO of MRI. "We believe companies that have been very cautious about making new hires now seem to be gearing up for expansion. They are more willing to make an investment in their businesses by adding to their mid-to-upper level management staff, which points to greater growth and momentum in the new year."

Pharmaceutical Sector Anticipates Greatest Growth

While the pharmaceutical industry topped the list, several key industry sectors also plan significant staff additions during the first half of the year:

Larger Companies Lead Hiring Trend
Largest Companies Plan Greatest Growth in Staff

The growth in recruitment is being lead by the larger companies. More than three quarters of companies with more than 1,000 employees plan to recruit while only 16% of companies with less than 100 employees plan to do so. Companies employing more than 1,000 people anticipate the greatest number of new hires, according to the survey participants, while the smallest companies plan the fewest:

Smaller companies appear to be more stable than larger ones with 80% of smaller companies planning to remain the same size as at the end of 2004. The mid size companies (between 100 and 1000 employees) seem to be more pessimistic with between 14 and almost 23% planning to decrease in size. In each size category the number of companies planning to hire greatly exceeds the number planning to decrease. On balance job prospects look healthy for the first half of 2005 said Salikof. "Although companies employing less than 100 people plan the fewest new hires, they also plan the fewest decreases in staff. The other segments, while showing greater decreases, are also indicating fairly substantial numbers of new hires," said Salikof. "On balance, job prospects look healthy for the first half of 2005."

International Findings

The MRI International Survey also found that the trend to increase hiring also crosses international borders. Following are the findings in other countries surveyed by MRI: In this league table Switzerland lies 5th in the 6 countries surveyed.

Ongoing National Survey

This is the 55th in an ongoing series of polls conducted by Management Recruiters International, Inc. (MRI). The survey was conducted in accordance with the professional and ethical standards of the American Marketing Association and the Marketing Research Association.

MRI has seven offices in Switzerland specializing in a wide range of industries and job functions in the executive and professional sector. A complete directory of the locations and contact information can be found at www.mrinetwork.com.

Management Recruiters International, Inc. (www.mrinetwork.com) is the world's largest search and recruitment organization with nearly 1,000 offices worldwide and systemwide billings of nearly $400 million. MRI is a subsidiary of staffing and outsourcing leader CDI Corp. (NYSE: CDI), a global provider of engineering and information technology project delivery and specialized staffing for Fortune 1000 companies (www.cdicorp.com).