79 Percent of American Workers Want Congress to Extend Unemployment Benefits, According to Monster Poll

Latest Monster Meter Poll Indicates Overwhelming Support of Congress Extending Unemployment Benefits During the Tough Economy

MAYNARD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 2, 2003--With Congress failing to pass the legislation when they adjourned the 2002 session, nearly 800,000 jobless Americans lost their unemployment benefits on December 28th, 2002. This is a hot button issue at the moment, with the unemployment rate rising to 6.0 percent during the month of November. When Congress reconvenes for the 2003 session on Tuesday, January 7th, 79 percent of American workers, according to the Monster Meter poll, urge Congress to extend the unemployment benefits. The Monster Meter, a product of Monster(R), the leading global online careers property and flagship brand of TMP Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ:TMPW), is an ongoing series of online polls that gauge users' opinions on a variety of topics relating to careers, the economy, and the workplace.

The Monster Meter asked, "Unemployment benefits for roughly 780,000 people will run out on Dec. 28. Should Congress pass another unemployment benefits extension?"(1):

  • 79% (7811 votes) said: "Yes."
  • 21% (2088 votes) said: "No."

"In the midst of a continuing tough economy and rising unemployment rate, many U.S. workers are having a difficult time securing employment," said Jeff Taylor, founder and chairman of Monster. "According to the latest Monster poll, a strong sentiment toward extending unemployment benefits is felt by American workers, as 79 percent of Monster users feel that the necessary steps need to be taken to ensure that all unemployed workers are protected during the slow recovery of the economy."

(1) The results of the current Monster Meter are based on 9,899 votes cast by Monster users from December 23rd to December 30th, 2002 on the Monster homepage. Only one vote per user is counted toward the final tabulation. Anyone interested in voting in Monster's current online poll may do so by logging onto Monster at www.monster.com. Users may review the results of past polls by going to http://midcareer.monster.com/polls/.

About Monster

Monster, headquartered in Maynard, Mass., is the leading global careers website, recording over 44.1 million unique visits during the month of November 2002 according to independent research conducted by I/PRO. Monster connects the most progressive companies with the most qualified career-minded individuals, offering innovative technology and superior services that give them more control over the recruiting process. The Monster global network consists of local content and language sites in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, France, Scotland, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Luxembourg, India, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, and Finland. Monster is the official online career management services sponsor of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games and 2002 and 2004 U.S. Olympic Teams. More information about Monster is available at www.monster.com or by calling 1-800-MONSTER.

About TMP Worldwide

Founded in 1967, TMP Worldwide Inc., with more than 8,500 employees in 33 countries, is the online recruitment leader, the world's largest Recruitment Advertising agency network, and one of the world's largest Executive Search and Executive Selection agencies. TMP Worldwide, headquartered in New York, is also the world's largest Yellow Pages advertising agency and a provider of direct marketing services. The company's clients include more than 90 of the Fortune 100 and more than 490 of the Fortune 500 companies. TMP Worldwide is a member of the S&P 500 Index. More information about TMP Worldwide is available at www.tmp.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.

CONTACT:

Monster
Kevin Mullins, 978/461-8751
kevin.mullins@monster.com
or
Weber Shandwick Worldwide
Kelly Sullivan, 617/520-7239
ksullivan@webershandwick.com