Monster Employment Index Rises 3% Year-over-Year

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun. 1, 2012-- Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: MWW):

May 2012 Index Highlights:

  • Monster Employment Index U.S. grows 3 percent in May and rises 1 percent month-over-month
  • Transportation and warehousing continues to outpace all sectors in recruitment growth, while finance and insurance gains momentum
  • Educational services, utilities, and public administration register double-digit negative growth
  • Among the metro markets tracked by the Index, Detroit gains notable momentum, while Chicago eases

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:

Dec
10

 

 

Jan
11

   

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

   

Y-O-Y
GROWTH

130     122     129     136     145     143     146     144     147     148     151     147     140     133     143     143     146     147     3%

Industry Year-over-year Trends: 13 of the 20 industries monitored by the Index showed positive annual growth trends.

  • Transportation and Warehousing (up 27 percent) maintained its top growth position despite reduced online demand for passenger ground transit and sightseeing jobs, mirroring trends seen in the BLS payrolls reports
  • Finance and Insurance (up nine percent) recorded the largest growth month-over-month with trends in the sector suggesting some momentum gains for service and sales
  • Information (up eight percent) maintained its year-over-year growth levels from April, with continued high demand for computer specialists
  • Retail Trade (up four percent) decelerated further in contrast to the springtime escalation typically seen at this time of year
  • Public administration (down 14 percent) and Utilities (down 15 percent) continued to chart the steepest annual decline in the Index.

Top Growth Industries

Year-over-year Growth    

May
11

   

May
12

   

% Growth
Y-o-y

Transportation and Warehousing     172     219     27%
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting     190     230     21%
Wholesale Trade     157     182     16%
Finance and Insurance     54     59     9%
Information     84     91     8%
           

Lowest Growth Industries

Year-over-year Growth    

May
11

   

May
12

   

% Growth
Y-o-y

Mining, Quarrying, Oil and Gas Extraction     285     284     0%
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation     43     39     -9%
Educational Services     94     84     -11%
Public Administration     153     132     -14%
Utilities     163     138     -15%

Occupation Year-over-year Trends: Annual online demand for workers rose in 17 of 23 occupational categories in May.

  • Transportation and Material Moving (up 27 percent) registered the highest annual growth in May
  • Architecture and Engineering (up 13 percent), continued to trend favorably, driven by demand from the manufacturing sector, finance/insurance, construction, and consulting services
  • Education, Training and Library (down 10 percent) continued to record the slowest annual growth as the broader Education services sector remained negative year-over-year

Top Growth Occupations

Year-over-year Growth    

May
11

   

May
12

   

% Growth
Y-o-y

Transportation and Material Moving     108     137     27%
Personal Care and Service     72     87     21%
Architecture and Engineering     105     119     13%
Legal     110     122     11%
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical     161     177     10%
           

Lowest Growth Occupations

Year-over-year Growth    

May
11

   

May
12

   

% Growth
Y-o-y

Military Specific     160     159     -1%
Protective Service     67     65     -3%
Production     133     129     -3%
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports and Media     99     94     -5%
Education, Training, and Library     131     118     -10%

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

  • Indianapolis (up 18 percent) continued to lead all metro markets in terms of annual growth driven by an upswing in demand for transportation and material moving as well as favorable demand for business/financial operations, computer and mathematical, and architecture and engineering occupations
  • Detroit (up 17 percent) was one of the most notable risers in the Index rankings with production and transportation categories exhibiting strong momentum gains. From the professional segment, momentum gains were notable in management, business and financial operations, architecture and engineering, and legal
  • Chicago (up nine percent) registered further slowdown in annual with ongoing weakness in recruitment trends for production, legal, healthcare, and office/administrative occupations

Top Growth Metro Markets

Year-over-year Growth    

May
11

   

May
12

   

% Growth
Y-o-y

Indianapolis     99     117     18%
Detroit     109     127     17%
Portland     100     116     16%
Houston     130     150     15%
Orlando     65     74     14%
           

Lowest Growth Metro Markets

Year-over-year Growth    

May
11

   

May
12

   

% Growth
Y-o-y

Boston     83     90     8%
New York City     85     90     6%
Los Angeles     72     76     6%
Tampa     93     97     4%
Miami     83     85     2%

International Trends:

  • Monster Employment Index Europe demonstrates a year-over-year growth of six percent in May, matching the rate of annual growth recorded in April. Germany retains an annual growth of 19 percent for the second consecutive month, Netherlands continues to chart the greatest decline in online hiring activity compared to year-ago levels (down 21 percent). Environment, architecture, urbanism notes substantial growth while the Public sector continues to exhibit the steepest annual decline
  • Monster Employment Index India recorded a five percent increase year-over-year in March. NGO/Social Services recorded the highest growth, while consumer goods/ FMCG, food and packaged food sectors also record strong annual growth. Demand for senior management occupations exhibited highest annual gain, while HR and administrative declined on an annual basis

To obtain a full copy of the Monster Employment Index U.S. report for April 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 May will be released on June 1, 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.

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Source: Monster Worldwide, Inc.

Monster Worldwide
Deepika Murty, 978-461-8765
Deepika.Murty@monster.com