Monster Releases Retail Industry Job Outlook for the 2002 Holiday Season

California, New York, and Texas Headline List of Top Locations for Retail Job Opportunities

73 Percent of Employers are Offering Between $10 and $15 an hour

MAYNARD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 21, 2002--Bolstered by last week's encouraging retail report for October, retail outlets nationwide are hiring thousands of qualified employees to handle the anticipated increase in holiday traffic. According to data released today by Monster(R), the leading global online careers site and flagship brand of TMP Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: TMPW), retail opportunities are abundant across the country, as postings increased 9.5 percent on Monster over the past month. The National Retail Federation is forecasting a 4 percent increase in overall sales this holiday season compared to last year, making retail hiring a critical component of holiday season success. A recent Monster Meter poll(1) reveals that job seekers are ready to support this crucial need, with 40 percent of Monster job seekers planning to look for seasonal work this year. According to Monster Data Intelligence, a group focused on analyzing Monster data, job seekers are seeking holiday employment in strong numbers, as evidenced by the total number of retail resumes growing 59 percent on Monster during 2002.

Based on a comprehensive analysis of Monster retail job postings in the United States, retail job opportunities are most abundant in California, which accounts for 14 percent of all retail jobs nationwide. It is followed by New York with 7.8 percent of all retail job opportunities, Texas (6.3 percent), Florida (6.2 percent), and Illinois (4.6 percent). Monster's analysis also revealed that retail job postings have shown great strength recently, particularly in New York, with retail job postings increasing 23.4 percent in the last month. Other strong areas include Florida, where retail job postings have grown 17.2 percent, Texas, which has seen its listings boosted by 15.6 percent, and Illinois, where retail opportunities have increased 10.4 percent in the last month.

Employers offer strong pay

For hourly workers

  • For job seekers seeking hourly wages, 58 percent are looking for less than $10 an hour, 40 percent desire between $10 and $15 an hour, and 2 percent are looking for between $16 and $20 an hour.

  • Conversely, 20 percent of employers are offering a wage less than $10 an hour, 73 percent offer between $10 and $15 an hour, 5 percent (between $16 and $20 an hour) and 3 percent (between $21 and $30 an hour).

For salaried workers

  • Retail job seekers are seeking a broad range of salaries. 47 percent of retail job seekers are looking for a salary of less than $40,000. 41 percent seek $40,000 to $70,000, 8 percent desire $70,000 to $100,000, 3 percent ($100,000 to $150,000), and just 1 percent are looking for a salary exceeding $150,000. Additionally, the markets for the highest desired salaries hail from job seekers who reside in California and New Jersey, where the median desired annual salary is $45,000.

  • Employers are also offering a wide range of salaries for retail positions. 53 percent of all retail job postings offer salaries of less than $40,000, 29 percent offer salaries between $40,000 and $70,000, 9 percent (between $70,000-$100,000), 5 percent (between $100,000 and $150,000), and 4 percent offer a salary exceeding $150,000.

Locations span the nation

Desired locations are scattered across the country for retail job seekers. Not surprisingly, New York City is the top choice, with 10 percent of all retail job seekers listing the Big Apple as their most desired location for a retail job. Los Angeles was cited by 6 percent of retail job seekers seeking employment in the southern California city, followed by Dallas (5 percent), Atlanta (4.8 percent) and Chicago (4.7 percent).

The top states for the total retail resume submissions are California, with 12.5 percent of all U.S. retail resumes originating from the state, followed by Texas (7.8 percent), New York (7.4 percent), Florida (7.4 percent), and Illinois (4.5 percent).

For additional information on retail statistics, including top locations and specific information for your state, please contact Kevin Mullins, 978-461-8751.

(1) The results of the Monster Meter are based on 10,176 votes cast by Monster users from September 23rd to 30th, 2002 on the Monster homepage. Only one vote per user is counted toward the final tabulation. Anyone interested in voting in Monster's current online poll may do so by logging onto Monster at www.monster.com. Users may review the results of past polls by going to http://midcareer.monster.com/polls/.

About Monster

Monster, headquartered in Maynard, Mass., is the leading global careers website, recording over 49.1 million unique visits during the month of October 2002 according to independent research conducted by I/PRO. Monster connects the most progressive companies with the most qualified career-minded individuals, offering innovative technology and superior services that give them more control over the recruiting process. The Monster global network consists of local content and language sites in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, France, Scotland, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Luxembourg, India, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, and Finland. Monster is the official online career management services sponsor of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games and 2002 and 2004 U.S. Olympic Teams. More information about Monster is available at www.monster.com or by calling 1-800-MONSTER.

About TMP Worldwide

Founded in 1967, TMP Worldwide Inc., with more than 9,000 employees in 33 countries, is the online recruitment leader, the world's largest Recruitment Advertising agency network, and one of the world's largest Executive Search and Executive Selection agencies. TMP Worldwide, headquartered in New York, is also the world's largest Yellow Pages advertising agency and a provider of direct marketing services. The company's clients include more than 90 of the Fortune 100 and more than 490 of the Fortune 500 companies. TMP Worldwide is a member of the S&P 500 Index. More information about TMP Worldwide is available at www.tmp.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 the company's strategic direction, prospects and future results. Certain factors, including factors outside of our 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 we operate, risks associated with acquisitions, competition, seasonality and the other risks discussed in our Form 10-K and our other filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which discussions are incorporated in this release by reference.

CONTACT:

Monster
Kevin Mullins, 978/461-8751
kevin.mullins@monster.com
or
Weber Shandwick Worldwide
Kelly Sullivan, 617/520-7239
ksullivan@webershandwick.com