Adecco Introduces New Direct Hire Business Line in Southwestern United States; Demand for Services Indicates Economic Revitalization in the Region.

Business Editors

MELVILLE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 24, 2003

Adecco (NYSE:ADO), the world's largest staffing and human resource solutions company, today announced that it has launched Adecco Direct Hire, a new business line with an exclusive focus on recruiting top talent for full-time positions. Adecco Direct Hire Hubs, which place people with administrative, technical, financial, banking, retail, hospitality, health care, sales, and management expertise, are located in all major markets in the southwestern United States: Los Angeles, South Bay, San Gabriel Valley, Orange County, Inland Empire, San Diego, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Denver and Salt Lake City.

According to Leslie Merrow, SVP for Adecco in the southwestern US, "The first months of 2003 have brought encouraging signs of economic revitalization in this part of the country. One key indicator is that Adecco Direct Hire Hubs are reporting a surprising landslide of new job orders with employers urgently seeking experienced people in a wide variety of industries and job disciplines. When this economic growth really takes hold, corporate America will face a potential shortage of people with essential skills. To fill this need, Adecco has launched Adecco Direct Hire."

Using the best direct recruiting methods and sophisticated technology, Adecco Direct Hire's recruiting professionals have access to tens of thousands of active job seekers and people who are presently employed but looking for new career opportunities. As Merrow says, "Many highly talented people who have been employed throughout the economic downturn were reluctant to seek a new position in a market that did not offer many opportunities. But now, these passive job seekers are looking for new challenges, and Adecco Direct Hire is connecting them with companies that are rebuilding their workforce."

Adecco's first-rate technology includes a fully automated, Web-enabled, networked resume posting, search and retrieval system that allows Adecco's experienced recruiters to single out and interview only the most qualified candidates. The company's proprietary Xpert Assessment and Training system permits Direct Hire recruiters to further screen candidates by assessing their skills, work ethic, and compatibility with the employer's workplace environment. As a result, Adecco Direct Hire clients expend a minimum of time, human resources, and money finding the right employee with right qualifications.

As Merrow says, "Adecco Direct Hire significantly enhances the services that Adecco's temporary staffing services provide to our clients. If the onslaught of hiring for skilled workers, professionals and managers we are seeing is any indicator of economic recovery, the long-awaited growth period for industries in the southwestern US will happen in 2003."

About Adecco

Adecco SA is a Forbes International 500 company and the global leader in HR Solutions. The Adecco network connects more than 650,000 associates with business clients each day through its network of over 29,000 employees and over 5,800 offices in 63 countries. Registered in Switzerland, and managed by a multinational team with expertise in markets spanning the globe, Adecco delivers an unparalleled range of flexible staffing and career resources to corporate clients and qualified associates.

The Adecco Group comprises five divisions: Staffing Services (Adecco), Professional Staffing and Services (Ajilon), Career Services (Lee Hecht Harrrison), e-HR Services (jobpilot), and HR Support Services (Paywise). In Adecco Staffing, the Adecco staffing network focuses on flexible staffing solutions for global industries in transition, including automotive, banking, electronics, logistics and telecommunications; Ajilon Professional offers an unrivalled range of specialized branded businesses; LHH Career Services encompasses our portfolio of outplacement and coaching; jobpilot e-HR Services focuses on online recruiting activities for the Adecco Group; Paywise HR Support Services provides integrated outsourced business services.

Adecco USA serves more than 70,000 clients a year through a nationwide network of almost 1,500 points of sales and service. With headquarters in Melville, NY, Adecco USA employs about 3,400 full-time employees and places more than 120,000 temporary associates each week.

Adecco SA is listed on the Swiss Exchange (ADEN / trading on Virt-x: 1213860), NYSE (ADO), Euronext Premier Marche (12819). Further information can be found at www.adecco.com.