Thumbs Up: Monster Employment Index Edges Up in October

This is good news.  Employers are starting to hire.  Read on....



October 2009 Index Highlights:

• Index
  climbs one point in October reflecting a slight improvement in online job
  demand


• Healthcare
  and public administration demonstrate solid growth in October, while
  opportunities in retail and hospitality industries retract


• Mid-Atlantic
  region sees highest monthly gain, while West South Central slips to a
  three-month low

NEW YORK, November 5, 2009 - The Monster Employment Index edged up one point in
October, indicating a mild pick-up in online recruitment activity at the onset
of the fourth quarter. Year-on-year the index is now down 20 percent which is
the most moderate annual rate of decline since October 2008.



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 October, online job availability rose in seven of the Index's 20
industry sectors and in 10 of the 23 occupational categories monitored. Index
results for the past 13 months are as follows:

"The rise in the October Index, along with
an improvement in the annual rate, indicate a mild expansion in the underlying
employer demand for workers" said Jesse Harriott, senior vice president
and chief knowledge officer at Monster Worldwide. "While the decline in
consumer confidence has likely contributed to reduced job demand in the retail
and hospitality sectors, employers are actively recruiting in the healthcare
and public sectors, resulting in stability of the overall Index."



Healthcare and Social Assistance
Registers Largest Monthly Gain in Online Job Demand in October

Online job demand in the health care and social assistance industry registered
the highest rate of increase in October amid strong job posting growth among
both practitioners/technical and support occupations. The public administration
sector also noted a jump in recruiting activity, while mining, quarrying and
oil and gas extraction; manufacturing; and utilities experienced modest gains
in October.



In contrast, the retail sales industry experienced an uncharacteristic dip for
the second consecutive month in October, indicating sluggish seasonal hiring
among retailers for this year's holiday period. Arts/entertainment;
accommodation and food services; and real estate also edged lower on the month.



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



Healthcare Practitioners
and Technical Occupations See Greatest Increase in Online Job Availability in
October

Amid rising needs for health services, healthcare practitioners and technical;
and healthcare support occupations registered increases in October, indicating
a bounce-back in demand for health services workers following reduced demand in
the previous two quarters.



Demand for protective service occupations also rose in October, while community
and social services; and military specific edged higher contributing to the
growth of the public administration industry as a whole.



Meanwhile, opportunities in the food preparation and serving category fell,
indicating that the hospitality industry maybe pessimistic about end-of-year
conditions.



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



Online Job Availability
Increases in Eight of Nine U.S. Census Bureau Regions in October

Online job demand increased in all U.S. Census Bureau regions except West South
Central in October. Mid-Atlantic registered the highest monthly increase since
December 2008, mainly due to the rise in online job availability in
Pennsylvania.



Year-over-year, East South Central and South Atlantic experienced the most
modest rate of decline unlike Pacific, where recruitment activity slowed
considerably.



Five of the Top 28 Major
U.S. Metro Markets Register Increases in October; 8 Remain Flat

During October, online recruitment activity increased in eight of the 28 U.S.
metro areas monitored by the Index, with Baltimore, Cincinnati and Detroit
registering the largest gains. Baltimore edged up in October due to increase in
demand for life, physical, and social science occupations as well as solid
hiring trends in the military specific category, while the rise in Cincinnati
was led by increased demand in the business and financial operations category.



Meanwhile, Boston and Washington, D.C. declined, following two months of growth
due to reduced demand in the education, training and library sector.



On a year-over-year basis, Tampa and Sacramento saw the most moderate rate of
decline, while Philadelphia and Cincinnati continue to show the steepest
declines.



To obtain a full copy of the Monster Employment Index report for October 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 November 2009 will be released on December 3, 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%.