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Monster Employment Index UK Rises in July, Continuing Upward Growth Trend Over First Half of 2005
LONDON & NEW YORK, Aug 09, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNST): Online job recruitment activity and related employment opportunities across the United Kingdom rose in July, continuing a general upward growth trend over the first half of the year, according to the Monster Employment Index United Kingdom (UK). The Index increased two points from 104 in June to 106 in July - its highest level since its inception in December 2004.
The Monster Employment Index UK provides a broad, comprehensive monthly analysis of online job demand in the UK. Occupations showing the greatest increases in online job availability during July were plant and machine operators and craft workers, while demand for technicians, associate professionals, service workers and shop and market sales workers, as well as professionals and clerks also showed solid growth from June to July. Specific results for the past eight months are as follows:
Jul 05 Jun 05 May 05 Apr 05 Mar 05 Feb 05 Jan 05 Dec 04 --------------------------------------------------------------- 106 104 103 103 104 102 91 97 ---------------------------------------------------------------"The Monster Employment Index UK's rise in July suggests that online hiring activity
continues to grow steadily, despite fears of an economic slow-down," said Andrew Wilkinson, CEO, Monster Worldwide, UK. "Part of this growth is seasonal, due to the summer pick-up and an influx of graduate positions in the run-up to September. Although the rise is moderate this month, the Index is showing healthy increases across a number of occupations categories and regions."
Demand for Plant and Machine Operators and Craft Workers continues to climb in July
Online job availability for plant and machine operators rose in July, mainly due to an increased demand for workers in the production and manufacturing sectors, although not as sharply as in June. Craft and related trade workers, such as building trade workers, also saw further growth, partially attributable to demand in the installation, maintenance and repair categories.
Demand for service workers and shop and market sales workers rose significantly up four points from June to July mainly due to demand for seasonal shop workers and part-timers over the sales period which started earlier than usual this year in order to lure reluctant shoppers. Demand for food, restaurant and catering service workers also increased in July, possibly due to an increase in summer events such as weddings, summer balls and festivals.
Interestingly, demand for legislators and managers fell two points in July, with growth slowing over the summer period as government officials took leave for the holiday season. Managerial positions in accounting and audit, sales and market and the construction sectors saw the most decrease in demand.
Online job availability for professionals increased significantly in July, after a slight decline in June, reaching its highest rate since February. Demand for professionals within banking, finance and insurance led the buoyancy in this category. In addition, demand for engineers, as well as for professionals in education and healthcare, was higher this month. Much of this demand may be attributed to demand for qualifying graduates in the run-up to September when training schemes, particularly in the finance sector, tend to start.
"Growth in demand for construction and building workers has continued over the past three months. This is supported by data from The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply which has shown that growth in the construction sector picked up in June to its fastest pace in six months with residential construction growing modestly after three straight months of contraction," said Andrew Wilkinson, CEO, Monster Worldwide UK. He continued, "The manufacturing and production sectors also saw a boost reflecting recent data from the CBI which showed that the sector experienced a slight upturn in output and rapid growth in exports in the mechanical engineering and transport sectors."
Occupations JUL 05 JUN 05 MAY 05 APR 05 MAR 05FEB 05 JAN 05 DEC 05 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Legislators, senior officials and managers 102 104 104 102 102 104 92 95 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Professionals 106 103 104 103 102 100 90 101 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Technicians and associate professionals 106 106 103 104 104 102 92 95 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Clerks 104 103 100 103 106 102 92 96 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Service workers and shop and market sales workers 104 100 100 101 104 107 93 96 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Skilled agricultural and fishery workers 110 100 104 107 100 99 93 97 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Craft and related workers 116 111 98 104 107 102 96 94 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Plant and machine operators and assemblers 114 109 95 101 106 106 95 98 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Elementary occupations 100 103 108 102 102 96 95 97 -------------------------------------------------------------------Strongest Regional Growth in Scotland, South-West, East Anglia and the South-East
The South-East, South-West, East Anglia and Scotland showed the strongest growth trend in July. In the South-West, East Anglia and the South-East, online job availability was highest in the engineering category. The buoyancy in these regions was reflected in recent data from the CBI which showed that factories will raise their output next month for the first time in three months, as higher export orders help the manufacturing sector to struggle out of recession. The recent weakness of sterling appears to have played a part, as export orders rose for the first time in 15 months. The majority of the new export orders came from the mechanical engineering and motor vehicles sectors.
In Scotland, demand for workers in the construction and banking industries helped boost regional job growth. The Index supports recent figures from HBOS which showed that the number of people in employment in Scotland in the three months to May was at 28.57 million, 184,000 higher than in 2004. In addition, a recent Purchasing Managers' Index from the Royal Bank of Scotland
showed private sector growth in the region had hit a 14-month high in June, whilst Scotland edged out London as the UK's fastest-growing market.
Meanwhile, East Anglia had a boost in the hospitality and tourism sector in July due to the start of the summer holiday season.
Monster Employment Index Europe
The high level of online recruitment activity in the UK is consistent with the trend in the other European countries covered by the Index in July. Overall, the Monster Employment Index Europe revealed a steady growth trend from December 2004 through July 2005:
Jul 05 Jun 05 May 05 Apr 05 Mar 05 Feb 05 Jan 05 Dec 04 -------------------------------------------------------------- 109 108 105 104 103 100 94 94 --------------------------------------------------------------The data for the individual countries for the same period showed the following growth from December 2004 through July 2005:
Countries Jul Jun.05 May05 Apr.05 Mar.05 Feb.05 Jan.05 Dec.04 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- France 110 106 106 104 102 100 94 94 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Germany 110 109 106 103 102 99 96 93 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Netherlands 98 107 106 103 103 97 93 97 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sweden 110 104 105 101 103 102 91 97 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- United Kingdom 106 104 103 103 104 102 91 97 ----------------------------------------------------------------------The Monster Employment Index UK is compiled by Monster Worldwide, parent company of the world's leading online career property, Monster. The Index is independently audited by ARC Research, a U.S.-based market research company 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://eIndex.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 August will be released on September 13, 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.
About Monster
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.
SOURCE: Monster Worldwide
Monster Worldwide UK
Michelle Brown, +44(0)2074065050
michelle.brown@monster.com
or
Weber Shandwick
Abi Holdaway, +44(0)2070670529
aholdaway@webershandwick.com
