Monster Employment Index Edges Up

New York, NY, November 1, 2007--The Monster Employment Index edged up two points in September, demonstrating greater online job availability across the country driven largely by stepped-up recruitment for white-collar and military occupations.

The Monster Employment Index is based on a real-time review of employer job opportunities culled from a large, representative selection of corporate career sites and job boards, including Monster(R).

"The Monster Employment Index's rise in October is an encouraging sign of continued stability in nationwide employer demand for workers, despite a moderating U.S. economy and the turmoil caused by the housing and credit markets," said Steve Pogorzelski, executive vice president at Monster Worldwide. "With the unemployment rate still hovering below 5%, the labor market remains historically tight with shortages of highly skilled workers driving much of the current online recruiting efforts."

Among industries, the public administration category registered the sharpest rate of increase in online job availability during October, jumping 29 points, or 19% - the category's largest jump since the inception of the Index. The rise was primarily due to expanded online opportunities within the federal government.

In contrast, online demand for transportation and warehousing posted the largest decline, falling eight points on the month. Construction; and real estate and rental and leasing - two categories with close ties to the slumping housing sector - also declined in October.

Seven of the nine U.S. Census Bureau regions tracked by the Index saw online job availability expand in October, with New England registering the highest rate of increase on the month, driven by strong increases in Vermont and Rhode Island and continued growth in Massachusetts. On a year-over-year basis, the West South Central remains the Index's top growth region, while the Mountain and Pacific regions remain the slowest growing.

From a year-over-year perspective, 19 of the 28 markets are showing greater online job availability, while eight have decreased and one remains flat. St. Louis replaced Houston as the Index's top growth market.