Monster: Online Recruitment Off

New York, NY, July 19, 2007--Online job availability declined in 18 of the top 28 U.S. metro markets in June, reflecting a mild seasonal summer slowdown in online recruitment and job posting activity across all major markets, according to the latest findings of the Monster Local Employment Index.

The Index is based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from more than 1,500 different Web sites, including Monster.

"The decline in online job availability in a majority of major U.S. metro areas reflect the typical summer seasonal slowdown in recruitment," said Steve Pogorzelski, executive vice president, Global Sales and Customer Development at Monster Worldwide.

"While most markets continue to demonstrate healthy underlying growth, the downturn in business/financial operations opportunities may point to challenges in the financial sector, including the recent declines in the sub-prime mortgage industry."

Among the 28 cities monitored by the Index, Orlando, Los Angeles and Philadelphia registered the sharpest declines in online recruitment activity during June, offsetting the strong gains that they recorded in recent previous months. Orlando, which plunged five points, or 5%, recorded the largest drop, followed closely by Los Angeles, which fell four points, or 4%, and Philadelphia, which also shed four points, or 3%.

 A majority of the 28 markets tracked registered lower online demand for workers in business and financial operations during June, suggesting that business conditions including the erosion of the sub-prime mortgage sector may be impacting hiring in the financial sector. The category declined in 23 of the top 28 markets on the month compared to only one market a year ago - a strong indication that the drop may not have been seasonal in nature. The fact that all 28 markets are now showing lower annual growth rates for the category provides further evidence of softening recruitment in this sector.