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Monster Employment Index Continues Rise in 2005 in February, Showing Broad-based Growth in U.S. Online Job Demand
The Monster Employment Index rose in February to yet another record high, indicating consistent growth in U.S. online job demand and online job recruitment activity. The overall Index increased two points from 120 in January 2005 to 122 in February, the highest level since the Index's inception and well above its February 2004 level of 95.
The Monster Employment Index measured increases in online job availability across all nine U.S. Census Bureau regions in February, indicating increased recruitment activity throughout the country. The Index's overall results for the past 13 months are as follows:
Feb. Jan. Dec. Nov. Oct. Sept. Aug. Jul. Jun. May Apr. Mar. Feb. 05 05 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- 122 120 113 117 114 114 112 107 108 105 103 97 95 ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----Seventeen of the 20 industries tracked by the Monster Employment Index rose in February, suggesting increased hiring activity across a wide spectrum of companies. Financial services recorded another all-time high, indicating continued strength in job availability within that industry, while manufacturing showed the highest year-over-year growth. Public administration also was up sharply, which may be driven by increased recruitment activity of healthcare practitioners at Veterans Affairs Hospitals and by increased Trade and Labor postings. Utilities showed a strong one-month increase, likely spurred by rising demand for support workers. The construction industry also rose for the fifth consecutive month showing continued demand for support positions such as sales, finance, engineers, technicians and designers. Educational services and professional, scientific and technical were the only industries that registered slight decreases in online job demand in February, while wholesale trade remained essentially flat.
"The Monster Employment Index's record level in February is consistent with other employment data, such as the recent four-year low in weekly jobless claims, that suggests continued increased recruitment activity" said Jeff Taylor, Founder and Chief Monster. "Increased job availability within a majority of the industries we track, as well as across a broad spectrum of white collar and blue collar occupational categories, is encouraging news for people seeking to find work and those looking to change jobs. At Monster, we are experiencing increased levels of seeker activity, some of which may be attributed to employed people switching jobs. While this 'turnover activity' has raised some concerns among employers, it is indicative of an active labor market and corresponds with the Index's findings."
Online demand for workers increased in 20 of 23 occupational categories during the month of February. Management; business & financial operations; construction & extraction; education, training & library; food preparation & serving; and healthcare practitioners & technical were among those that registered sharp month-to-month gains. With the exception of personal care & service and healthcare practitioners & technical, all categories were higher compared with the prior year period, indicating continued growth in job availability across a diverse spectrum of occupations.
Business & Financial Among Hot Occupations, Signifying Demand for Tax Season
In anticipation of the upcoming tax season, online demand for business & financial occupations increased again in February, a trend that is likely to continue. Legal occupations also rose for the second consecutive month, indicating continued demand for paralegal and legal assistant-level support staff. Online job demand for blue collar occupations also saw a sharp up-tick during the month, with building/grounds cleaning & maintenance and installation, maintenance, and repair registering strong increases and likely reflecting a desire by employers to prepare for upcoming needs as the Spring/Summer season approaches. Healthcare support and military specific were the only occupation categories that saw slight declines in February, while the arts, design, entertainment, sports and media category remained unchanged.
Online Job Demand Rises Across All U.S. Regions in February
Online job demand for workers rose in all nine U.S. Census Bureau regions in February and all regions remained at very high levels when compared year over year. Nearly all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia saw increases; only Nebraska and Delaware remained essentially flat. States that saw the greatest rate of month-to-month increases included Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana and Vermont.
Based on online job demand in relation to total working population, the Monster Employment Index found the following states (and the District of Columbia) to be the top ten in terms of online job availability during the month of February:
1. Arizona 2. District of Columbia 3. California 4. Maryland 5. Delaware 6. Connecticut 7. Florida 8. Massachusetts 9. Virginia 10. New JerseyCalifornia continued to offer the most online job availability of any state based on sheer quantity alone.
Top Five Industries Looking for Employees in February
Industries showing the greatest rate of increase in job availability in February included:
Industries Feb. 05 Jan. 05 Dec. 04 Nov. 04 Oct. 04 Feb. 04 ------------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- Public Administration 113 97 91 94 94 99 ------------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- Finance and Insurance 122 113 114 114 115 96 ------------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- Information 114 105 108 107 106 100 ------------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- Utilities 119 111 105 110 107 98 ------------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- Manufacturing 135 129 123 116 116 98 ------------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------Most Wanted Occupational Experience
Occupational categories registering significant increases in online job demand in February included:
Occupations Feb. 05 Jan. 05 Dec. 04 Nov. 04 Oct. 04 Feb. 04 -------------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 118 105 106 111 112 97 -------------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- Education, Training, and Library 116 107 108 109 108 94 -------------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- Building/ Grounds Cleaning/ Maintenance 116 107 103 111 109 92 -------------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- Farming, Fishing & Forestry 106 97 91 93 98 98 -------------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- Business & Financial Operations 136 128 122 121 118 97 -------------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------Online Job Demand Increases Across Nearly All U.S. Regions in February
Online job demand increased across all nine U.S. Census Bureau regions in February. They are presented here in order of greatest month-to-month increase.
U.S. Census Feb. 05 Jan. 05 Dec. 04 Nov. 04 Oct. 04 Feb. 04 Bureau Regions -------------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- West North Central 124 116 114 116 115 94 -------------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- West South Central 128 120 117 118 113 96 -------------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- New England 121 114 114 116 114 95 -------------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- Mountain 122 115 114 116 115 93 -------------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- Mid-Atlantic 121 115 113 115 113 95 -------------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- East North Central 122 117 114 115 114 96 -------------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- South Atlantic 122 117 116 117 114 94 -------------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- East South Central 122 116 112 114 112 95 -------------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- Pacific 124 118 115 116 114 94 -------------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------About the Monster Employment Index
Launched in April 2004 with data collected since October 2003, the Monster Employment Index is a broad and comprehensive monthly analysis of U.S. online job demand conducted by Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNST), the parent company of the leading global online careers property, Monster(R). Based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from more than 1,500 Web sites, including a variety of corporate career sites, job boards and Monster, the Monster Employment Index presents a snapshot of employer online recruitment activity nationwide. The Index counts job postings as an indicator of employer demand for employees or, in other words, job availability. Job postings are online advertisements placed by an employer looking to fill one or more vacant job positions. The Monster Employment Index reports results on a monthly basis.
All of the data and findings in the Monster Employment Index have been validated for their accuracy through independent, third party auditing conducted on a monthly basis by ARC Research, a Cranford, New Jersey-based provider of innovative click and brick market research solutions. The audit validates the accuracy of the online job recruitment activity measured for the last six months within a margin of error of +/- 1.05%.
Additional information on the Monster Employment Index, including all charts and tables, is available online at http://eIndex.monsterworldwide.com. Data for the month of March 2005 will be released on March 31, 2005.
About Monster Worldwide
Founded in 1967, Monster Worldwide, Inc. is the parent company of Monster(R), the leading global online careers property. The company also owns TMP Worldwide, the world's largest Yellow Pages advertising agency and one of the world's largest Recruitment Advertising agency networks. TMP Worldwide is also a provider of direct marketing services. Headquartered in New York with approximately 5,000 employees in 26 countries, Monster Worldwide (NASDAQ: MNST) is a member of the S&P 500 Index. More information about Monster Worldwide is available at www.monsterworldwide.com.
Celebrating its 10-year anniversary, Monster is the leading global online careers property. A division of Monster Worldwide, Monster works for everyone by connecting quality job seekers at all levels with leading employers across all industries. Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Maynard, Mass., Monster has 25 local language and content sites in 23 countries worldwide. More information is available at www.monster.com or by calling 1-800-MONSTER. To learn more about Monster's industry-leading employer products and services, please visit http://recruiter.monster.com.
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, seasonality 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.
CONTACT: General Information: Monster Worldwide, Inc. David Rosa, 212-351-7067 david.rosa@monsterworldwide.com or Media Inquiries: Monster Kevin Mullins, 978-461-8751 kevin.mullins@monster.com or Weber Shandwick Kerry Parke, 617-520-7019 kparke@webershandwick.com SOURCE: Monster Worldwide, Inc.
