MILWAUKEE, Aug 5, 2002 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Manpower Inc. has strengthened its status as the staffing industry's employer of choice by expanding its U.S. benefits package - despite rapidly rising costs - to make health care and career development for all employees even more comprehensive. Manpower Inc.'s benefits package is available to all its employees, including those placed on assignment at customer sites.

Manpower revolutionized the staffing industry in the mid-1980s by giving assigned employees the same access to benefits as its corporate staff. To this day, Manpower prides itself in offering assigned employees the best benefits package in the industry.

"Manpower employs more than a half million individuals annually in the United States. We are proud of our status as an employer of choice and have chosen to strengthen that reputation by expanding the already extensive benefits package Manpower Inc. offers its corporate and assigned employees," said Barbara Beck, executive vice president - U.S. and Canadian Operations.

    Manpower Inc.'s enhanced benefits include:
    --  Larger selection of physicians. Manpower has added more than a
        dozen new physician networks to its medical plan to give
        employees ultimate freedom in choosing a health care provider.
    --  Greater coverage of prescription drugs. The company has
        expanded its standard and premium prescription plans to cover
        contraceptives to help employees manage the ever-increasing
        expense of prescription drugs.
    --  More career development opportunities. Employees can now earn
        educational credit through Manpower's Global Learning Center,
        empowering them to improve job performance, increase earning
        potential and build or maintain membership eligibility for
        professional associations.

    --  Medical Insurance. Employees have a choice of three medical
        plans, all of which are based on a Preferred Provider
        Organization model that allows the individual to choose a
        physician or specialist from a large nationwide network.
    --  Dental Insurance. Employees have a choice of two dental plans.
        Both plans give the individual the freedom to select a
        preferred dentist.
    --  Life insurance. Employees are eligible for group life and
        accidental death and dismemberment insurance, which offer
        $25,000 in life insurance and $25,000 in accidental death and
        dismemberment insurance.
    --  Global Learning Center. Manpower created the Global Learning
        Center, an online university, to encourage lifelong learning
        and career development for its workforce. Employees have free,
        unlimited access to the Global Learning Center, which offers
        more than 1,800 business courses - 300 of which are
        college-level - in subjects like technology, marketing and
        accounting.
    --  Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Employees can purchase Manpower
        stock annually at a 15 percent discount.
    --  401(K) Plan. Employees can defer up to 15 percent of earnings
        on a pre-tax basis to save for retirement.
    --  Employee Recognition Program. Manpower recognizes its assigned
        employees for performance excellence and awards individuals
        with a selection of premiums.