January 2009 Index Highlights
- Index edges up four points, halting the downtrend observed since October and consistent with an up-tick historically seen during the month of February
- Year-over-year the Index is down 26% suggesting continued distress in labor market conditions
- Recruiting in the Administrative Services accelerates while Retail Trade continues downward trend
- Occupations in Business and Financial Operations witness gains due to seasonal demand for accountants and tax service professionals
- All geographic regions exhibit increased recruitment activity in February, except the Pacific region which remained flat
- Online demand for workers grows in 25 of the 28 major metro markets, led by Pittsburgh and Houston
Summary Overview
The Monster Employment Index rose moderately in February, adding four points, as a majority of industries, occupations and regions registered increased online job availability.
“The gain in the February Index is the first since October of 2008, but is a typical pattern seen historically as we move from January to February and companies start their recruiting efforts in earnest. Most industries and occupations showed an increase in online recruitment activity in February as did the majority of geographical regions and major metropolitan markets. All of this suggests that traditional annual hiring cycles remain somewhat intact,” said Jesse Harriott, Vice President of Research at Monster Worldwide. “The annual growth rate for the Index is still negative year-over-year, suggesting that labor market conditions remain well below the hiring demand of 2007 and early 2008.”
For the full report, please click on the link provided above.
MEI Local Reports
In addition to national, industry, occupation and regional data, the Monster Employment Index presents a snapshot of employer online recruitment activity in the 28 largest U.S. metro markets in terms of working population. The local results are broken down by occupation and are published at the same time as the national Index. Use the links below to see specific local market findings from the Index:
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 online career outlets, including Monster®, the Monster Employment Index presents a snapshot of employer online recruitment activity nationwide. The Monster Employment Index’s underlying data is validated for accuracy by Research America, Inc. – an independent, third-party auditing firm – to ensure that measured online job recruitment activity is within a margin of error of +/- 1.05%. Data for the month of March will be released on April 2, 2008.