July Monster Employment Index Rises 2% Year-over-Year

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 3, 2012-- Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: MWW):

July 2012 Index Highlights:

  • Monster Employment Index U.S. grows two percent in July, the 29th consecutive month of positive year-on-year growth yet at a decelerated rate compared to five percent in June
  • Transportation and warehousing recruitment continued to place among the top sectors with 11 percent recruitment growth, at a moderating pace compared to 22 percent in June
  • Information rebounded with long-term trend pointing positive again, while educational services, accommodation and food services, and public administration recorded negative annual growth
  • Among major metropolitan markets, Houston was the growth leader. Los Angeles continues to gain momentum, while metros like Pittsburgh and Minneapolis are down in the rankings

The Monster Employment Index U.S. is a monthly gauge of U.S. online job posting activity based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large representative selection of career Web sites and online job listings. The Index does not reflect the trend of any one advertiser or source, but is an aggregate measure of the change in job listings across the industry.

Monster Employment Index U.S. results for the past 18 months are as follows:

Feb
11

    

Mar
11

    

Apr
11

    

 May
11

    

Jun
11

    

Jul
11

    

Aug
11

    

Sep
11

    

Oct
11

    

Nov
11

    

Dec
11

    

Jan
12

    

Feb
12

    

Mar
12

    

Apr
12

    

 May
12

    

Jun
12

    

Jul
12

    

Y-O-Y
GROWTH

129     136     145     143     146     144     147     148     151     147     140     133     143     143     146     147     153     147     2%
                                                                                                             

Industry Year-over-year Trends: 15 of the 20 industries monitored by the Index showed positive annual growth trends.

  • Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing (up 19 percent) finished itself atop the sector rankings in the July Index, swapping places with Transportation and warehousing - June's leader
  • Transportation and Warehousing (up 11 percent) has charted a moderation in pace of expansion, most notably for formerly fast-expanding recruitment areas like operations research, assorted transport management, and IT occupations. Truck/heavy freight drivers remains the largest single occupational recruitment area for the sector
  • Wholesale Trade (up ten percent) has tapered in each month since April, somewhat counter to seasonal precedent for the sector, and is now barely registering double-digit percentage growth on the year
  • Retail Trade (up nine percent) held relatively steady, despite the recent months of stagnation in the Department of Commerce's retail sales figures
  • Healthcare and Social Assistance (up nine percent) charted further improvement in long-term growth trend in July with some of the new momentum originating in non-practitioner sub-categories. Information and records workers, as well as assorted technicians and personal care workers are encountering elevated demand levels.
  • Information tipped back to the positive direction in July, after having gone flat in June
  • Accommodation and Food Services (down 4 percent) and Educational Services (down ten percent) continued to slip, joining Public Administration (down 19 percent) with the distinction of having steepest annual declines in the Index

Top Growth Industries

Year-over-year Growth    

Jul
11

    

Jul
12

    

% Growth
Y-o-y

Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting     190     226     19%
Transportation and Warehousing     196     217     11%
Wholesale Trade     157     172     10%
Retail Trade     160     174     9%
Health Care and Social Assistance     104     113     9%
                   

Lowest Growth Industries

Year-over-year Growth    

Jul
11

    

Jul
12

    

% Growth
Y-o-y

Utilities     138     138     0%
Management of Companies and Enterprises     109     109     0%
Accommodation and Food Services     98     94     -4%
Educational Services     92     83     -10%
Public Administration     167     136     -19%
                   

Occupation Year-over-year Trends: Annual online demand for workers rose in 16 of 23 occupational categories in July.

  • Legal (up 21 percent) registered the highest annual growth in July
  • Building, Grounds Cleaning, Maintenance (up 17 percent) and Architecture and Engineering (up 16 percent) recorded similar acceleration

Top Growth Occupations

Year-over-year Growth    

Jul
11

    

Jul
12

    

% Growth
Y-o-y

Legal     109     132     21%
Building, Grounds Cleaning, Maintenance     117     137     17%
Architecture and Engineering     109     126     16%
Personal Care and Service     69     79     14%
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry     163     186     14%
                   

Lowest Growth Occupations

Year-over-year Growth    

Jul
11

    

Jul
12

    

% Growth
Y-o-y

Life, Physical, and Social Science     141     138     -2%
Production     132     129     -2%
Community and Social Services     216     210     -3%
Protective Service     70     67     -4%
Education, Training, and Library     129     120     -7%
                   

Geographic year-over-year Trends: All 28 metro markets recorded positive annual growth in July.

  • Houston (up 15 percent) has ranked among the top 5 metros by measure of long-term growth for several months, with notable momentum gains in occupational categories like legal and computer/mathematical during the latest month. Local construction and production recruitment is also growing at rates exceeding nationwide averages for the respective occupational categories
  • Los Angeles (up 13 percent) labor market statistics generally mirror those for the state of California, featuring one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation, but figures have improved in recent months, and employment gains have been realized. In July, Los Angeles recruitment trends improved further for production occupations, sales, healthcare, IT, and engineering
  • Minneapolis (up three percent) and Pittsburgh (up four percent) each charted slower growth in July compared to June. Contrasting with other parts of the nation, recruitment remained particularly weak for production occupations. Trends also suggested dispersion in momentum for transportation and material moving

Top Growth Metro Markets

Year-over-year Growth    

Jul
11

    

Jul
12

    

% Growth
Y-o-y

Houston     135     155     15%
Dallas     115     131     14%
Indianapolis     106     120     13%
Chicago     92     104     13%
Los Angeles     71     80     13%
                   

Lowest Growth Metro Markets

Year-over-year Growth    

Jul
11

    

Jul
12

    

% Growth
Y-o-y

Boston     84     88     5%
Kansas City     106     111     5%
Tampa     92     96     4%
Pittsburgh     169     176     4%
Minneapolis     114     117     3%
                   

International Trends:

  • Monster Employment Index Europe showed further improvement in July, increasing 2 percent compared to a year ago. This was the 27th consecutive month in which positive annual growth was charted. Online demand continued showing the strongest rate of increase in Germany. Opportunities in the country rose at the fastest pace, registering an annual growth of 13 percent. While the Netherlands continued being the country showing the steepest declines across Europe in July, edging down by 18 percent compared to the year previously.
  • Monster Employment Index India recorded a three percent increase year-over-year in June. Agro based industries recorded the highest growth while Travel and Tourism also recorded strong annual growth; Government/PSU recorded double digit negative decline. Demand for arts/ creative occupations exhibited highest annual gain

To obtain a full copy of the Monster Employment Index U.S. report for July 2012, and to access current individual data charts for each of the 28 metro markets tracked, please visit http://about-monster.com/employment-index. Data for the month of August will be released on September 7, 2012.

About the Monster Employment Index U.S.

Launched in April 2004 with data collected since October 2003, the Monster Employment Index U.S. is a broad and comprehensive monthly analysis of U.S. online job posting activity conducted by Monster Worldwide, Inc. Based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large, representative selection of corporate career sites and job boards, including Monster, the Monster Employment Index presents a snapshot of employer online recruitment activity nationwide. All of the data and findings in the Monster Employment Index have been validated for their accuracy through independent, third party auditing conducted periodically by Research America, Inc. The audit validates the accuracy of the national online job recruitment activity measured within a margin of error of +/- 1.05%.

About Monster Worldwide

Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: MWW), parent company of Monster, the premier global online employment solution for more than a decade, strives to inspire people to improve their lives. With a local presence in key markets in North America, Europe, and Asia, Monster works for everyone by connecting employers with quality job seekers at all levels and by providing personalized career advice to consumers globally. Through online media sites and services, Monster delivers vast, highly targeted audiences to advertisers. To learn more about Monster's industry-leading products and services, visit . More information about Monster Worldwide is available at .

Special Note: Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for historical information contained herein, the statements made in this release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding Monster Worldwide, Inc.'s strategic direction, prospects and future results. Certain factors, including factors outside of Monster Worldwide's control, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward- looking statements, including economic and other conditions in the markets in which Monster Worldwide operates, risks associated with acquisitions, competition, and the other risks discussed in Monster Worldwide's Form 10-K and other filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which discussions are incorporated in this release by reference.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50364750&lang=en

Source: Monster Worldwide, Inc.

Monster Worldwide
Kristen Gugliotta, 978-461-8089
kristen.gugliotta@monster.com