RESEARCH ALERT-UPDATE 1-UBS raises four U.S. employment stocks

May 11 (Reuters) - UBS raised its rating on four U.S. employment services companies and said there were signs suggesting the U.S. employment market had begun to stabilize.

In a note to clients, analyst Andrew Fones said consumption, a leading employment indicator, appeared to have stabilized and lending seems to be easing, reducing downside risks.

The brokerage also said Europe was sending out "mixed" signals, which hinted that the international labour markets may start steadying soon as well.

However, the analyst said while UK and French temporary staffing data have begun to match U.S. data, Dutch and Belgium temporary staffing remained weak.

Following is a table of ratings revisions done on U.S. employment company stocks by UBS:

NAME RIC RATING

New Old

Heidrick & Struggles International (HSII.O) Neutral Sell

Korn/Ferry International (KFY.N) Neutral Sell

Robert Half International Inc (RHI.N) Buy Neutral

Manpower Inc (MAN.N) Buy Neutral

(Reporting by Biswarup Gooptu in Bangalore, Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)