Monster Employment Index Dips in December

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Monster Employment Index edged down four points in December, amid a relatively mild seasonal fall in online recruitment activity. On a year-over-year basis, the Index is now down 12 percent, the mildest rate of annual decline seen during the past 18 months indicating slight stability in underlying employer demand for workers at the end of the year.

“Despite a challenging economic climate, hiring conditions seem to continue to stabilize, if not already slowly improving.”

The Monster Employment Index is a monthly gauge of U.S. online job demand based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large representative selection of corporate career Web sites and job boards, including Monster.com®.

During December, online job availability rose in three of the Index’s 20 industry sectors and in six of the 23 occupational categories monitored. Index results for the past 13 months are as follows:

Dec.	Nov.	Oct.	Sep.	Aug.	Jul.	Jun.	May.	Apr.	Mar.	Feb.	Jan.	Dec.
09	09	09	09	09	09	09	09	09	09	09	09	08
115	119	120	119	121	114	117	118	120	118	122	118	131

“The decline in the Index during December is typical due to end-of-year seasonality. However, the improvement in the annual rate of decline lends evidence to a slight firming in underlying employer demand for workers at the end of the year” said Jesse Harriott, senior vice president and chief knowledge officer at Monster Worldwide. “Despite a challenging economic climate, hiring conditions seem to continue to stabilize, if not already slowly improving.”

Public Administration Registers Largest Monthly Gain in Online Job Demand in December; Wholesale Trade Declines

The public administration industry registered the highest increase in online job demand in December recovering from a 26-month low. Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting also rose in December, adding 3 points. Healthcare and social assistance edged up while arts, entertainment, and recreation remained flat on the month.

In contrast, wholesale trade saw a four-point drop but was nearly flat year-on-year (-2 percent) in the Index, a state not seen since April 2008. Online recruitment activity also dipped in the utilities; retail trade; and transportation and warehousing industries in December.

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting is the only industry category showing greater online job availability compared to a year ago, while Arts, entertainment, and recreation saw the largest year-over-year decline.

Healthcare Support Occupations See Greatest Increase in Online Job Availability in December; Management; and Business and Financial Operations Fall

In December, online hiring demand rose in six of the 24 occupational categories monitored by the Index. Healthcare support registered the strongest monthly rise in online job availability in December with a 15-point increase. Demand also strengthened for protective service; military specific; and legal occupations, fuelled by government hiring.

Meanwhile, management; and business and financial operations registered notable falls in December, while sales and related occupations saw a downward correction following three months of elevated seasonal demand.

Farming, fishing and forestry continued to lead all occupational categories in terms of year-over-year growth with a 16 percent annual rise in opportunities. Education, training, and library also reported more online job offerings than a year ago.

Online Job Availability Reduces in All Nine U.S. Census Bureau Regions in December

Online job demand fell in all nine U.S. Census Bureau regions in December, and all nine remain down year-over-year. Mountain experienced the most moderate rate of decline, while New England experienced the steepest fall largely due to a decline in the state of Massachusetts where online worker demand reduced to a 5-year low.

Meanwhile, all regions showed sustained decrease in online job offerings over the fourth quarter as a whole as well on a year-over-year basis, with East South Central and West South Central recording the smallest and largest rates of annual decline, respectively.

Twenty Six of the Top 28 Major U.S. Metro Markets Register Decreases in December

During December, online recruitment activity decreased in twenty six markets while Cleveland and Minneapolis remained flat. Minneapolis was the only market to note a net uptick in online recruitment activity over the fourth quarter as a whole, gaining 2 points between September and December. Despite the slight dip in December, online demand in Phoenix has remained steady over a 6-month period largely due to increased demand in business and financial operations and architecture and engineering occupations.

Meanwhile, Sacramento and Washington, D.C. saw the sharpest rate of monthly decline while Boston registered the largest fourth-quarter drop.

Year-over-year, all 28 markets continued to report falls, with Portland showing the most moderate rate of decline, followed by Pittsburgh and Miami.

To obtain a full copy of the Monster Employment Index report for December 2009, and to access current individual data charts for each of the 28 metro markets tracked, please visit http://about-monster.com/employment-index. Data for the month of January 2009 will be released on February 4, 2010.

About the Monster Employment Index

Launched in April 2004 with data collected since October 2003, the Monster Employment Index is a broad and comprehensive monthly analysis of U.S. online job demand conducted by Monster Worldwide, Inc. Based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large, representative selection of corporate career sites and job boards, including Monster, the Monster Employment Index presents a snapshot of employer online recruitment activity nationwide. All of the data and findings in the Monster Employment Index have been validated for their accuracy through independent, third party auditing conducted periodically by Research America, Inc. The audit validates the accuracy of the online job recruitment activity measured within a margin of error of +/- 1.05%.

About Monster Worldwide

Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: MWW), parent company of Monster®, the premier global online employment solution for more than a decade, strives to bring people together to advance their lives. With a local presence in key markets in North America, Europe, and Asia, Monster works for everyone by connecting employers with quality job seekers at all levels and by providing personalized career advice to consumers globally. Through online media sites and services, Monster delivers vast, highly targeted audiences to advertisers. Monster Worldwide is a member of the S&P 500 Index. To learn more about Monster's industry-leading products and services, visit www.monster.com. More information about Monster Worldwide is available at http://about-monster.com/.

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