Monster Employment Index Extends Upward Growth Trend to Six Consecutive Months with Rise in June

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 7, 2005--June 2005 Index Highlights:

-- Index edges up two points to 136 - a 28-point increase over June 2004 -- Strong demand in the construction industry reflects continued strength in housing market -- Demand for arts & entertainment workers shows strong three-month growth trend with the growth of new media frontiers improving industry's outlook -- Shortage of drivers in trucking industry contributes to sharp up-tick in demand -- Increased online demand for accountants and finance professionals driven by corporate efforts to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley

The Monster Employment Index rose two points to a record high in June, continuing a six-month growth trend for the year and indicating a very robust level of U.S. online job recruitment activity compared to a year ago. The overall Index edged up from 134 in May 2005 to 136 in June 2005 - yet represented a sharp, year-over-year increase of 28 points over its June 2004 level of 108.

The Index's overall results for the past 13 months are as follows:

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Jun. May. Apr. Mar. Feb. Jan. Dec. Nov. Oct. Sept. Aug. Jul. Jun. 05 05 05 05 05 05 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 136 134 131 130 122 120 113 117 114 114 112 107 108 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

"The Monster Employment Index's six-month growth trend for 2005, combined with the fact that weekly jobless claims trended down sharply in June, is a positive indication that the U.S. labor market will continue to gradually strengthen and show forward momentum in the coming months," said Steve Pogorzelski, president of Monster, North America. "Despite some declines and flatness in certain industries and occupational categories, the Index's overall reading for online job recruitment activity in June across the U.S. remains quite strong."

Corporate Compliance Efforts Fuel Demand for Accounting and Finance Professionals

Finance & insurance showed the sharpest increase in online job availability among industries during the month of June, attributable in part to the growing economy as well as the increasing need for financial professionals to aid corporations in complying with Sarbanes-Oxley. Overall, online job demand for workers rose in 14 of 20 industries during June, including:

-- Arts, entertainment, and recreation, which continued a six-month growth trend driven by the growing popularity of new media frontiers, such as online film rental subscriptions, licensed digital distribution of music, and the rapid adoption of cell phone ring tones and music downloads; -- Construction, which showed strong growth due to the burgeoning housing market and the rush to break ground on new projects to meet demand fueled by low mortgage rates; and -- Professional, scientific, and technical services, which has seen steady increases due to the strong growth within the field of biotechnology and a rising number of national defense contracts that have been awarded to technical services companies.

Demand for Truck Drivers and other Transportation Positions Up Sharply in June

Online demand for transportation & material moving workers experienced a sharp up-tick in June as regional hiring increased and trucking companies continued to struggle with a shortage of drivers. Other occupations registering increases during the month of June included:

-- Community & social services, which registered a marked increase in online recruitment activity, possibly due to heightened daycare needs that typically accompany the end of the school year; -- Healthcare practitioners & technical, which saw the beginning of what is predicted to be a hiring trend as hospital labor costs are falling more in line with revenue growth and hospitals are turning towards permanent employees and away from contracted labor, according to Standard & Poor's; and -- Military-related occupations, which continue to see heightened online demand as the U.S. military continues to step up recruitment efforts in order to meet recruitment goals. After promising a "monumental effort," Pentagon officials said that Army recruitment goals for the month of June were not only met, but exceeded.

Mountain Region Registers Sharpest June Increase in Online Job Availability

The Mountain region saw the greatest month-to-month percentage increase in online job availability during June, followed by the New England, West South Central and South Atlantic regions. Online job demand for workers increased in just four of the nine U.S. Census Bureau regions in June, although all regions remained at very high levels when compared year over year. Only twenty-two U.S. states registered increases in June, with Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming and Hawaii among those seeing the sharpest gains. Seventeen states saw declines during June, including New York, Illinois, and the District of Columbia; while 12 states remained essentially unchanged from May, including California, Florida and Virginia.

Local Monster Employment Index to Debut in July

On July 21st, Monster will release the inaugural findings of its Local Monster Employment Index, a snapshot of online job demand within the top 28 U.S. markets based on greatest total working population.

To obtain a full copy of the Monster Employment Index report for June 2005, including all charts and tables, please visit http://eIndex.monsterworldwide.com. Data for the month of July 2005 will be released on August 4, 2005.

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. 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%. Data for the month of July 2005 will be released on August 4, 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, one of the world's largest Recruitment Advertising agency networks. Headquartered in New York with approximately 4,500 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.

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, June 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: Monster Worldwide, Inc.
David Rosa, 212-351-7067
david.rosa@monsterworldwide.com
or
Media Inquiries:
Kevin Mullins, 978-461-8751
kevin.mullins@monster.com
or
Weber Shandwick
Lauren McDonald, 617-520-7116
lmcdonald@webershandwick.com

SOURCE: Monster Worldwide, Inc.