Monster Employment Index Shows Online Job Demand Holding Strong; October Results Essentially Unchanged from September Peak Level

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 4, 2004--Monster Worldwide, Inc.:

  • Most Industries, Occupations and Regions Up Sharply Compared to October 2003 --
  • Wholesale Trade, Construction and Utilities Among Industries Showing Greatest Increase in Online Job Availability --
  • Spike in Online Job Demand within Wholesale Trade Industry a Likely Precursor to Approaching Holiday Shopping Season --

Demand for workers and related online job recruitment activity across the United States remained strong in October, as the Monster Employment Index held steady, reporting relatively flat online job demand compared with September results, when the Index reached its highest level since its inception.

With a year of data collected, and in keeping with best practices, Monster Worldwide has officially re-scaled the Index using the first twelve months (from October 2003 to September 2004) as a new baseline. The newly re-scaled monthly historical numbers continue to accurately reflect the up and down movements over the past year, and moving forward, will serve as the Index's basis of measurement.

According to the newly re-scaled baseline, the Monster Employment Index measured 114 in October, maintaining the same record level established in September. The Index's October 2004 level stands in stark contrast to October 2003 when Index results stood at 93. Since that time, nearly every industry, occupation and region has shown steady year-over-year and stepwise growth that is indicative of sustained labor market expansion. Re-scaled results for the Monster Employment Index's first ten months of 2004 are as follows:

Oct. Sept. Aug. Jul. Jun. May Apr. Mar. Feb. Jan. Oct. 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 03 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 114 114 112 107 108 105 103 97 95 93 93 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Previous Baseline Oct. Sept. Aug. Jul. Jun. May Apr. Mar. Feb. Jan. Oct. 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 03 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 151 151 145 134 136 128 125 109 107 102 102 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

During the month of October, more than half of the 20 industries tracked by the Index saw increases of varying degrees in online job demand. Moreover, every industry except management of companies & enterprises was higher year-over-year. In October, wholesale trade, construction, utilities and accommodation & food services were among the industries that saw the greatest one-month increases.

The rise in demand within the wholesale trade industry could likely be a precursor to preparations for the holiday shopping season. Moreover, the rising demand in accommodation & food services is consistent with the broader recovery that the lodging industry has experienced in 2004 and projections that U.S. travel and tourism will continue to improve in 2005.

Manufacturing, retail trade and real estate also registered minor increases in October, while finance & insurance; information; professional services and administrative support remained essentially flat. The only industries that experienced slight declines during October were mining and public administration.

Online demand for workers increased slightly in 11 of 23 occupational categories in October. Business & financial operations registered its tenth month of sequential growth while the computer & mathematical occupations category, which captures the greatest number of IT-related positions, also continued a four-month upward trend. Management; architecture & engineering; and production all increased for the third consecutive month. Nearly every occupational category was up from a year ago.

The personal care & service, protective service and healthcare support categories (not healthcare practitioners) all saw sharp decreases during the month. Demand for sales occupations dipped slightly following a three-month growth trend.

"With twelve months of data collected and a new baseline of measurement established, the Monster Employment Index has reached a new level of maturity, enabling us for the first time to compare year-over-year growth and historical trends," said Jeff Taylor, Founder and Chief Monster. "As there was generally little significant up or down movement in most industries, occupations and regions, the Index was relatively flat in October but still remained at its peak. Overall, this demonstrates a continued strength in U.S. online job demand. You only have to look at where the Index is today versus a year ago to see clear evidence of a slow but steady expansion in the U.S. job market."

Online Job Demand Eases Back Slightly in Most U.S. Regions in October

Online job demand for workers eased back slightly in 8 out of the 9 U.S. Census Bureau regions in October. Nevertheless, every region remained close to its highest level based on a year-over-year comparison. The South Atlantic region, which includes Washington, D.C., Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, was the only region that remained flat for the month, thanks to strong online job demand in Washington, D.C. and Florida.

Only 9 U.S. states registered increases during the month of October, with 7 of them notching two consecutive months of growth. These included Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, North Dakota and the District of Columbia. The remaining U.S. states either declined slightly or were flat. The District of Columbia and all 50 states, except Louisiana, are up year over year.

Based on online job demand in relation to total working population, the Monster Employment Index found the following states to be the top ten in terms of online job availability during the month of October:

1. Arizona 2. District of Columbia 3. Maryland 4. Delaware 5. Virginia 6. California 7. Massachusetts 8. Connecticut 9. New Jersey 10. Florida

California continued to offer the most online job availability of any state during the month of October based on sheer quantity alone.

Top Five Industries Looking for Employees in October Industries showing the greatest increase in job availability in October included: Industries Oct. 04 Sept. 04 Aug. 04 Jul. 04 Jun. 04 Oct. 03 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Wholesale Trade 118 111 113 109 107 89 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Construction 113 107 111 109 106 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Utilities 107 101 112 108 106 84 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Accommodation & Food Services 112 108 109 107 111 93 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting 114 109 121 110 106 90 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Most Wanted Occupational Experience Occupational categories showing the largest increase in online job demand in October included: Occupations Oct. 04 Sept. 04 Aug. 04 Jul. 04 Jun. 04 Oct. 03 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Architecture & Engineering 120 115 112 103 110 87 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Military Specific 113 110 110 108 107 85 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Business & Financial Operations 118 116 110 108 106 90 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Computer & Mathematical 120 118 112 99 98 83 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Community & Social Services 116 114 111 103 104 93 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Nationwide Online Job Demand Generally Flat The following U.S. Census Bureau regions are listed in order of smallest month-to-month decrease: U.S. Census Bureau Oct. Sept. Aug. Jul. Jun. Oct. Regions 04 04 04 04 04 03 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic 114 114 112 109 108 88 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- New England 114 115 113 108 108 89 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- East South Central 112 113 111 108 109 91 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- East North Central 114 116 112 106 108 90 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- West North Central 115 117 114 107 106 92 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Mountain 115 117 113 108 108 90 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pacific 114 116 111 108 109 92 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Mid-Atlantic 113 117 112 107 107 92 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- West South Central 113 117 111 103 106 88 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 November will be released on December 2, 2004.

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. Monster is the official online career management services sponsor of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team. 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: Monster Worldwide, Inc.
David Rosa, 212-351-7067
david.rosa@monsterworldwide.com
or
Weber Shandwick
Christian Harper, 212-445-8135
charper@webershandwick.com

SOURCE: Monster Worldwide, Inc.