Online Recruitment Activity Up

New York, NY, June 18, 2007--Online job availability rose in 19 of the top 28 U.S. metro markets in May, as online recruitment activity continued to show upward momentum beyond the height of the spring hiring season, 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(R).

"The May findings of the Monster Local Employment Index demonstrate a moderate increase in overall online recruitment activity across a majority of the major U.S. cities tracked while reflecting a continued tightening of labor market conditions at the local level," said Steve Pogorzelski, Executive Vice President, Global Sales and Customer Development at Monster Worldwide. "Most of the Index markets continue to register slower annual growth rates in 2007 compared to last year, but also have started to show a slight pick-up over the more muted pace of the first three months of the year."

Among the 28 cities monitored by the Index, Orlando registered the largest increase in online recruitment activity during May, jumping five points amid rising demand for healthcare practitioners and technical occupations. Demand for workers in healthcare support; and community and social services also rose sharply, both month-to-month and year-over-year. Online job opportunities in housing related occupations, by contrast, were down sharply from a year ago, further illustrating the impact of the cooling Florida housing market on overall labor demand.

Online job opportunities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area increased for the fifth consecutive month, reflecting continued momentum across most sectors of the area's job market. The Index for Dallas gained four points in May and is now up 18 points, or 17 percent, over the year. Service categories such as community and social services; protective service; and installation, maintenance, and repair registered the largest gains in online job availability, while white-collar occupations such as management; business and financial operations; and computer and mathematical (IT) also edged higher and are up significantly from a year ago. Together with Houston, its neighbor to the south, these two Texas cities remain the Index's top year-over-year growth markets.

Boston posted a solid four percent increase in online recruitment activity last month, the city's largest monthly Index gain since August of last year. The rise was mainly due to increased demand for researchers, scientists and educators, and extended a four-month upward growth trend. With the exception of military specific occupations, the life, physical, and social science category registered the highest rate of increase in online job availability over the month - an eight percent increase and more than any other market monitored by the Index - indicating sharply stronger demand for recent graduates to fill research jobs across a range of disciplines.

Online job availability in Seattle rose four points in May, extending a four-month growth trend bolstered by continued strength in the area's software and high-tech manufacturing industries. Among the 28 markets tracked, Seattle registered the highest monthly rate of increase in online job availability for both computer and mathematical (IT); and production occupations during May. In contrast, opportunities in business and financial operations remained flat. Although the category is up slightly from a year ago, it noted the lowest annual growth pace on record, which may be a result of the impact on mortgage demand associated with the fallout in the national housing market.

Meanwhile, online recruitment activity accelerated in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh amid tighter labor market conditions and rebounding demand in the manufacturing sector. Both cities registered their highest year-over-year growth rates since the Index's inception two years ago. Philadelphia noted a sharp increase in opportunities for healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, while Pittsburgh benefited from a jump in online opportunities for education, training, and library positions. Pittsburgh also remains the top growth market among the 28 tracked in terms of demand for food preparation and serving related occupations. Both cities also showed increased online job availability for blue-collar occupations such as production; transportation and material moving; and installation, maintenance, and repair, indicating greater employer demand in the manufacturing sector.

Online recruitment activity in Tampa dipped slightly in May, due in part to lower demand for white-collar and sales occupations suggesting that negative spillover effects from the area's cooling housing market may have spread into wider business and retail sectors. In fact, the overall sluggish performance of the Index for Tampa in recent months has primarily been due to fewer online job opportunities in housing-related occupations such as construction and extraction; production; transportation and material moving; and building and grounds cleaning and maintenance.

Despite holding steady in May, Cincinnati is now the only market showing lower online job availability on a year-over-year basis. It is also the only market to show a decline over the past three months, suggesting that the local job market may be weakening. Online recruitment for white-collar workers was particularly soft last month, with fewer openings in management; business and financial operations; computer and mathematical (IT); architecture and engineering; and life, physical, and social science occupations.

For the top 28 metro markets combined, healthcare practitioners and technical occupations registered the highest rate of increase in online job opportunities over the month, while sales and related; and architecture and engineering remain the slowest growth categories.