UPDATE 1-BMO cuts staffing sector to underperform

(Adds details, share movement)

Sept 29 (Reuters) - BMO Capital Markets downgraded the
staffing industry to "underperform" from "market perform,"
citing mainly the market turmoil, and saying recent economic
and industry data showed deteriorating trends.

Analyst Jeffrey Silber, who also cut his price targets on a
number of staffing stocks, said the proprietary staffing survey
showed the worst near-term outlook since 2003.

Silber cut its rating on three healthcare staffing stocks
AMN Healthcare Services Inc (AHS.N), On Assignment Inc (ASGN.O)
and Cross Country Healthcare Inc (CCRN.O), and engineering
staffing firm CDI Corp (CDI.N) to "market perform" from
"outperform."

"While these companies may be less cyclical than their
peers, we believe they may be considered more 'later cycle
plays' and given our reduced estimates, we no longer believe an
outperform rating is warranted," Silber said.

The companies that have sizable non-U.S. exposure could
start seeing negative foreign exchange translations beginning
in the fourth quarter, also hindering near-term reported
results, he wrote in a note to clients.

Silber also downgraded Robert Half International Inc
(RHI.N) to "underperform" from "market perform," given its
premium valuation and its exposure to sectors such as finance
and accounting, office and clerical, and IT and permanent
placement services.

While shares of AMN Healthcare Services fell as much as 4
percent to $17.38, CDI fell 5 percent to $22.00 and Robert Half
fell as much as 8 percent in morning trade on the New York
Stock Exchange.

Shares of On Assignment fell 7 percent to $7.66 on Nasdaq.
The following table shows the price target changes: COMPANY

PRICE TARGET CHANGES

NEW OLD
AMN Healthcare Services (AHS.N) $19 $20 CDI
Corp (CDI.N) $22 $26 Cross
Country Healthcare (CCRN.O) $15 $16 Hudson
Highland Group (HHGP.O) $8 $10 Manpower
Inc (MAN.N) $47 $53 On
Assignment (ASGN.O) $9 $10
Robert Half International (RHI.N) $20 $26
Spherion Corp (SFN.N) $5 $6
TrueBlue Inc (TBI.N) $16 $15
(Reporting by Bhaswati Mukhopadhyay in Bangalore; Editing by
Gopakumar Warrier)