Blue September 2: Monster Employment Index Drops Slightly - But mining & construction/healthcare hiring up!

Grab your shovels and tool belts and stethoscopes!

September 2009 Index
Highlights:

• Index edges down two points in September
  indicating a modest decline in U.S. online recruitment activity
  


• Bucking the overall trend, hiring in mining
  and construction rises, while the manufacturing sector holds steady amid
  stabilizing demand for blue-collar occupations
  


• Opportunities in healthcare continue to
  moderate
  


• Boston sees the highest rise among metro
  markets

NEW YORK,
October 1, 2009- The Monster Employment Index edged downward in
September after a significant rise in late summer recruitment activity during
August. Over the year, the Index fell 25 percent largely unchanged from last
month's pace.

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®.

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

"Despite recent improvements in economic sentiment,
U.S. employers continue to exhibit caution when it comes to hiring" said Jesse
Harriott, senior vice president and chief knowledge officer at Monster
Worldwide. "On the upside, demand for workers is firming in the blue-collar
segment, with welcome signs of revived activity in construction and
manufacturing."

Mining and Construction Rise, While Manufacturing
Holds Steady in September
Online labor demand in the mining,
quarrying and oil/gas extraction industry increased in September, rising for the
third consecutive month. Recent rises in energy and commodity prices may have
contributed to accelerated hiring in the sector. Meanwhile, construction
continued its steady rise, with a three-point increase in September, mirroring
reports that that the housing market has reached a bottom.

Online demand
in the manufacturing and administrative/support and waste management industries
remained stable in September, while arts, entertainment, and recreation
registered the sharpest percentage decline on the month among industries,
followed by public administration.

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and
hunting is the only industry category showing greater online job availability
compared to a year ago.

Opportunities for Blue-Collar Occupations
Rise; Healthcare Eases in September
Online demand for blue-collar
occupations rose in September with installation, repair and maintenance leading
all categories. Construction and extraction and production also recorded
expanded opportunities. Personal care and service was the only other category to
edge upward in September though demand in this occupational category remains
near historic lows with a year-over-year decline of 57 percent. Demand remained
stable for most white-collar occupations with business and financial operations
exhibiting a solid three-month trend.

In contrast, opportunities for
healthcare workers were broadly reduced in September as both healthcare support
and healthcare practitioners and technical registered lower demand than a month
ago. Demand for military-specific occupations also declined, possibly due to
reduced hiring by public and private defense employers. Declines were also noted
for management and sales occupations, following upticks last month.

On an
annual basis, farming, fishing and forestry remains the only occupational
category to exhibit greater demand than a year ago.

Online Job
Availability Decreases in Eight of Nine U.S. Census Bureau Regions in
September
Online job demand declined in all U.S. Census Bureau
regions except East North Central in September. Hiring conditions were
relatively stable in the Great Lakes states of Michigan and Wisconsin. In
contrast, West South Central declined, erasing the upward movement from the
previous month.

Year-over-year, East South Central had the most moderate
rate of decline closely followed by the South Atlantic
region.

Eight of the Top 28 Major U.S. Metro Markets Register
Increases in September
During September, online recruitment activity
increased in eight of the 28 major metro markets monitored by the Index. Boston
saw the highest increase due to an upsurge in demand for workers in life,
physical, and social sciences, legal and healthcare occupations. Cleveland saw a
three-point rise that contributed to the rise in online demand for the East
North Central region as a whole, mostly due to increased demand for white-collar
categories like business/financial operations and IT. Both Portland and Kansas
City declined but experienced expansion in lower-wage occupations like food
preparation/serving and production.


To obtain a full copy of the
Monster Employment Index report for September 2009, and 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 October 2009 will be released on November 5,
2009.

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 on a
monthly basis 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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Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for historical information
contained herein, the statements made in this release constitute forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking
statements involve certain risks and uncertainties, including statements
regarding Monster Worldwide, Inc.'s strategic direction, prospects and future
results. Certain factors, including factors outside of Monster Worldwide's
control, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in
the forward- looking statements, including economic and other conditions in the
markets in which Monster Worldwide operates, risks associated with acquisitions,
competition, seasonality and the other risks discussed in Monster Worldwide's
Form 10-K and other filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
which discussions are incorporated in this release by reference.