Press Release Details

TROY, Mich., Feb 4, 2004 -- The following commentary by Terence Adderley, chairman and chief executive officer, and Carl Camden, president of global staffing company Kelly Services, Inc., is offered in advance of the January unemployment rate announcement due Friday from the U.S. Department of Labor. In December, the unemployment rate dropped to 5.7 percent, and the economy gained a reported 1,000 jobs that month.

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"We are coming off a transitional year for the economy and the staffing industry," said Adderley. "As we get into 2004, the greatest unknown is the pace of the recovery. We currently see a job-creating recovery that is gradual and sustainable, with demand for temporary staffing continuing to show real strength. As companies become more confident that the recovery is for real, they will begin adding to their permanent workforce," Adderley said.

Camden noted gathering strength in office and light industrial staffing, indicating customers are becoming more optimistic in their outlooks. "We also are seeing increasing demand for financial professionals among accounting firms, banks and corporate finance departments, but we are observing a slowdown in mortgage-related hiring. Legal staffing is another robust area, both in temporary and permanent hiring. Our outsourcing and recruitment business continues to show solid growth as well, as companies are becoming more focused on improving their hiring processes. We are seeing similar strength in our staffing vendor management business," Camden said.

"Regionally, the Southeast United States is performing better than most other areas in terms of jobs, while the Midwest is doing less well than the country as whole," Camden noted. "The January job numbers, combined with likely revisions to the December data, should offer a more accurate read on employment conditions now that seasonal adjustments and the holiday period are fully behind us."

About Kelly Services

Kelly Services, Inc. (Nasdaq: KELYA, KELYB) is a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Troy, Mich., offering human resources solutions that include temporary services, staff leasing, outsourcing, vendor on-site and full-time placement. With more than 2,400 company owned and operated offices in 26 countries, Kelly provides to its customers nearly 700,000 employees annually, with skills including office services, accounting, engineering, information technology, law, science, marketing, light industrial, education and health care. Revenue in 2003 was $4.3 billion. Visit www.kellyservices.com .

SOURCE Kelly Services, Inc.