Monster Employment Index UK Dips Slightly in November, Remaining Near its High for the Year and Demonstrating Strong Online Recruitment Activity

LONDON, Dec 13, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Monster Worldwide (Nasdaq:MNST):

-- Demand for Service and Shop Workers Rises for the Second Consecutive Month as Retailers Add Staff for the Busy Christmas Period

-- Online Opportunities for Installation, Maintenance and Repair Workers Increase as the Winter Freeze Sets In

Online job recruitment activity and related employment opportunities across the United Kingdom dipped slightly in November, yet remained at a much stronger level than the beginning of the year, according to the Monster Employment Index UK. The Index fell slightly during the month, dropping one point from 106 in October to 105 in November, as demand increased in some occupational categories, and declined in others.

During November, online demand for craft workers exhibited the strongest growth, jumping eight points. This was largely driven by increased demand for installation, maintenance and repair workers as the UK anticipates one of the coldest winters on record for a decade. Online job demand for service and shop workers also registered significant growth for the second consecutive month, as retailers continue to hire extra staff to cover the busy run up to Christmas.

In contrast, demand for plant and machine operators declined sharply by 17 points in November, reaching its lowest level since May 2005. The Index findings are consistent with recent data from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) which shows continued weakness in the manufacturing industry, as robust demand for exports has been offset by deterioration in domestic orders.

Results for the Monster Employment Index UK over the past 12 months are as follows:

Nov Oct Sep Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan Dec 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 04 ------------------------------------------------- 105 106 103 103 106 104 103 103 104 102 91 97 -------------------------------------------------

"Online job opportunities in the UK in November dipped slightly, but overall the online hiring environment remains positive. Seasonal factors are clearly affecting job demand in certain industries, such as the retail sector, where businesses are actively ramping up their staffing efforts for the holiday and post-Christmas sales season," explained Alan Townsend, Managing Director for Monster UK & Ireland. "This is occurring despite predictions for a tough Christmas on the UK high street, with reports from a leading electronics retailer indicating that trading remains difficult as consumers are limiting their spending on electricals and white goods. Retailers appear to be maintaining a hopeful outlook in spite of other research from a leading business consultancy indicating that UK shoppers will spend less on gifts this Christmas than last year, marking the first time in a decade that consumers have cut back on buying presents."

Online Job Demand for Installation, Maintenance and Repair Workers Rises in November as Winter Freeze Sets In

With the winter season approaching, and forecasters expecting one of the UK's coldest in a decade, online opportunities for installation, maintenance and repair workers jumped in November, reflecting active hiring among utilities companies and other businesses bracing for sharply higher demand. In contrast, online job availability for workers within the production and manufacturing sector declined sharply raising fears that the industry is unable to sustain an improvement in its fortunes. Although oil prices have slipped back over the past month, manufacturers' profit margins remain under pressure, with more firms expecting to cut prices rather than raise them in the months ahead.

Online job demand for clerks working in healthcare services, public services, accounting and audit increased considerably in November, although not enough to offset a decline in the hospitality and tourism, and transport and logistics sectors.

Additionally, the Index showed a greater number of online job opportunities within the educational, personal care, automotive and consultancy sectors, while demand for jobs within the healthcare, science and HR sectors dipped.

Online job availability for home workers in sales showed a five-fold increase in November, suggesting higher demand among telemarketers and other businesses with a heavy mobile workforce.

"The growth in demand for teleworkers supports research which shows that the UK is moving towards a working model which is much more sympathetic to those with family responsibilities. Increasingly, British workers are choosing to work from home in the run up to Christmas in order to spend more quality time with family and avoid the winter commute," added Townsend. "A recent survey conducted by the Office for National Statistics highlighted that home-working is a growing trend, with 3.1 million people working from home in the UK in Spring 2005, compared to just 2.3 million in Spring 1997. The higher costs of office premises and difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff, especially those with families, have been highlighted as major influences in companies' decisions to let an increasing number of their staff work from home on an occasional and sometimes even full-time basis."

Nov Oct Sep Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan Dec Occupation 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 04 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Legislators, senior officials and managers 104 104 99 101 102 104 104 102 102 104 92 95 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Professionals 106 106 103 103 106 103 104 103 102 100 90 101 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Technicians and associate professionals 105 105 104 104 106 106 103 104 104 102 92 95 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Clerks 101 102 101 103 104 103 100 103 106 102 92 96 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Service workers and shop and market sales workers 109 104 101 101 104 100 100 101 104 107 93 96 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Skilled agricultural and fishery workers 99 106 103 106 110 100 104 107 100 99 93 97 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Craft and related workers 127 119 110 114 116 111 98 104 107 102 96 94 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Plant and machine operators and assemblers 97 114 115 110 114 109 95 101 106 106 95 98 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Elementary occupations 112 103 101 102 100 103 108 102 102 96 95 97 ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Online Job Demand Rises Significantly in Midlands and East Anglia, Whilst Scotland and Northern Ireland see a Decline

Online job opportunities in the Midlands and East Anglia regions of the UK showed a solid increase in November, as employers showed greater demand for service workers and craft workers as well as technicians. The Midlands region also registered increased online job availability for workers within the education sector during the month.

Northern Ireland saw a significant fall in online job demand, driven mainly by a decline in sales workers.

Meanwhile in Scotland, online demand for technicians and plant and machine operators fell during the month, particularly across the construction and extraction industries. Despite increased online job opportunities in the banking, finance and insurance and the sales sector, they could not compensate for the declines in other industry sectors.

Monster Employment Index Europe

The Monster Employment Index Europe fell slightly during the month, dipping by one point to 112 in November from 113 in October. Since its inception, the Index has maintained a mostly upward growth trend and saw a decline for the first time in November. However it still remains near the highest level reached, demonstrating continued strength in online job recruitment activity across the five countries it tracks. The Netherlands was the only country that registered growth, rising two points during the month. November's moderate decline was due to slightly lower demand in Germany and the UK, and flat activity in France and Sweden. Monster Employment Index Europe results for the past twelve months are as follows:

Nov Oct Sep Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan Dec 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 04 ------------------------------------------------ 112 113 110 109 109 108 105 104 103 100 94 94 ------------------------------------------------

Monthly Index results for the five individual countries over the past twelve months are as follows:

Nov Oct Sep Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan Dec Country 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 04 --------------------------------------------------------------- France 108 108 98 102 110 106 106 104 102 100 94 94 --------------------------------------------------------------- Germany 116 117 116 114 110 109 106 103 102 99 96 93 --------------------------------------------------------------- Netherlands 113 111 108 108 110 107 106 103 103 97 93 97 --------------------------------------------------------------- Sweden 99 99 98 94 98 104 105 101 103 102 91 97 --------------------------------------------------------------- United Kingdom 105 106 103 103 106 104 103 103 104 102 91 97 ---------------------------------------------------------------

The Monster Employment Index UK provides a broad, comprehensive monthly analysis of online job demand in the UK and is compiled by Monster Worldwide, the parent company of the leading global online careers and recruitment resource, Monster(R). The Index is independently audited by ARC Research, a U.S.-based market research, to ensure the accuracy of the data within a margin of error of +/- 1.05%. The U.S. version of the Monster Employment Index was first introduced in April 2004.

Additional information on the Monster Employment Index United Kingdom is available online at http://euindex.monsterworldwide.com. Visitors can subscribe to receive the monthly UK Index report as well as the broader Monster Employment Index Europe report in English, French, German or Swedish. Monster Employment Index UK data for December will be released on January 10, 2006.

About Monster Worldwide

Founded in 1967, Monster Worldwide, Inc. is the parent company of Monster(R), the leading global online careers and recruitment resource. The company also owns TMP Worldwide, one of the world's largest Recruitment Advertising agency networks. Headquartered in New York with approximately 4,800 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.

About Monster

Monster(R) is the leading global online careers and recruitment resource. A division of Monster Worldwide, Monster was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Maynard, Massachusetts, USA. Monster has 26 local language and content sites in 24 countries worldwide. Monster is known for connecting quality job seekers at all levels with leading employers across all industries and offers employers innovative technology and superior services that give them more control over the recruiting process. 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.

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SOURCE: Monster Worldwide

Monster Worldwide UK Michelle Brown, + 44 (0) 20 7406 5050 michelle.brown@monster.com or Weber Shandwick Gerry Grewal, + 44 (0) 20 7067 0515 ggrewal@webershandwick.com