Online Job Index Falls in December

New York, NY, January 3, 2008 -- The Monster Employment Index fell 14 points in December, reflecting a seasonal slowdown in recruitment that is typical during the final month of the year as well as further moderation in the job market.

The index is based on a review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large, representative selection of corporate career sites and job boards, including Monster.

During December, nearly all of the 20 industries and 23 occupational categories tracked by the index registered lower online job availability compared to the previous month. Two industry categories remained unchanged and two occupations edged up slightly. As a result of the December findings, the Index's year-over-year growth eased further to a modest two points, or one percent.

"Approximately half of the Index's decline in December can be attributed to seasonality as employers naturally scale back their hiring activities during the final month of the year," said Steve Pogorzelski, executive vice resident at Monster Worldwide.

All nine U.S. Census Bureau regions saw reduced online job availability last month. The South Atlantic region showed the mildest decline on the month; however most of the regions were down by similar percentages. Meanwhile, six of the regions were still showing year-over-year growth in online job availability, with West South Central showing the highest annual growth rate.

All of the top 28 U.S. metropolitan areas tracked registered lower online job availability, with Portland, Chicago and Sacramento exhibiting the sharpest declines between November and December