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Online Job Availability Declines in All 28 Top U.S. Metro Markets in December, Reflecting End-of-year Seasonal Slowdown in Recruitment Activity
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 22, 2007--Online job availability declined in all 28 of the top U.S. metro markets in December, reflecting a seasonal hiring pause as employers concluded their holiday and year-end hiring efforts, according to the latest findings of the Monster Local Employment Index.
"The Index's year-end decline in overall online job availability is in line with seasonal expectations and past Index results, since employers typically conclude their hiring activities in the first half of the month, before people head off for the holidays," said Steve Pogorzelski, Group President, International at Monster Worldwide. "Overall, 2006 was another year of steady growth for the Index, with every market demonstrating positive growth on a year-over-year basis, albeit at a slower rate in the second half of the year."
Portland, which saw four consecutive months of elevated demand, registered the most significant decline in online recruitment activity in December, falling six points. The overall drop in Portland was mostly due to fewer white-collar opportunities in occupations such as management, IT, and engineering, which now stand lower than a year ago. Atlanta, which fell one point last month, saw only a mild end-of-year decline in job availability and remains a healthy and resilient job market, with strong demand in the area for education; community/social services; protective services; and food services occupations.
The Baltimore metro market, which has experienced a softer-than-expected downturn over the past two months, saw strong demand for researchers and scientists; protective services workers; and advertising, marketing and PR professionals. Phoenix, which fell five points in December, has seen its housing-driven economy slow significantly, generating a gradual downshift in online recruitment activity over the past two quarters.
Houston registered the highest rate of increase in online job availability over the past 12 months, surging 17 points, mainly due to solid growth in demand for both white- and blue-collar occupations. Cleveland and Kansas City followed close behind, with their strong growth driven by soaring demand for IT and engineering professionals.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Tampa and Washington, D.C. registered the slowest rate of growth in online recruitment activity among the major markets tracked in 2006. Tampa, which has suffered from weakness in several housing-related categories, also saw a drop in demand for healthcare; community services; and arts and entertainment occupations in 2006. Washington, D.C., where the overall level of online job availability has still remained high, experienced rather stagnant demand for military, engineering, transportation, legal and office/administration workers compared to other markets.
Over the past year, and despite a dip last month, online job opportunities for protective service; and food preparation and serving related occupations registered the strongest pace of growth among occupations, reflecting continuous demand for security and restaurant workers, as well as the increased utilization of the Internet to recruit personnel for these types of occupations. In contrast, online job availability for military specific occupations declined the most in 2006.
During the month of December and among the 28 markets tracked, online demand for healthcare support occupations saw the largest drop, while opportunities for workers in business and financial operations; and architecture and engineering occupations dipped moderately.
Overall results for the top 28 U.S. metro markets over the past 12 months are as follows:
DEC NOV OCT SEP AUG JUL JUN MAY APR MAR FEB JAN DEC 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 05 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Atlanta 109 110 111 110 108 106 106 106 106 105 103 99 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Baltimore 105 106 107 106 107 102 103 103 104 103 102 99 101 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boston 103 105 108 107 107 100 104 106 104 103 102 99 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Chicago 105 109 110 108 107 104 105 106 105 104 102 97 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cincinnati 105 108 106 106 105 106 105 109 105 101 102 98 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cleveland 110 113 113 108 109 105 106 107 108 104 103 97 97 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dallas 107 111 110 110 109 107 107 108 107 106 103 98 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Denver 108 112 112 112 113 109 106 109 109 107 102 99 98 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Detroit 106 110 109 108 108 104 104 106 105 103 103 99 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Houston 117 120 120 117 115 112 111 112 110 107 105 100 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Indianapolis 104 109 108 108 107 107 105 106 109 105 103 98 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Kansas City 110 114 114 113 111 106 107 109 107 104 103 97 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Los Angeles 103 104 105 104 101 104 102 104 104 105 103 100 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Miami 105 107 108 106 105 103 105 106 106 106 104 100 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Minneapolis 110 114 116 113 111 109 109 108 107 106 103 99 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- New York City 104 108 108 106 106 102 104 106 106 103 103 98 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Orlando 103 107 106 105 105 103 101 103 103 103 101 100 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Philadelphia 104 107 106 105 105 102 101 103 103 103 103 101 101 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Phoenix 105 110 110 111 112 110 111 113 109 106 103 101 102 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pittsburgh 105 109 109 106 106 103 102 103 103 106 104 101 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Portland 105 111 113 112 115 107 108 110 106 102 103 100 101 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sacramento 105 108 109 106 109 105 103 106 109 108 107 98 98 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- San Diego 106 110 111 110 115 107 106 107 106 105 106 100 101 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- San Francisco 107 111 111 109 110 105 105 106 106 106 105 99 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Seattle 108 111 113 112 115 109 109 110 108 106 103 100 101 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- St. Louis 104 108 111 109 108 105 108 107 107 106 104 100 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tampa 100 103 104 103 106 104 104 106 106 106 104 101 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Washington, D.C. 101 104 106 106 106 101 100 102 102 103 102 99 100 ----------------------------------------------------------------------Year-over-year results for the top 28 U.S. metro markets in 2006 are as follows, with the markets listed in order of strongest gains registered between December 2005 and December 2006:
Rank Metro Area YOY Growth ------------------------------------------ 1 Houston 17 ------------------------------------------ 2 Cleveland 13 ------------------------------------------ 3 Kansas City 11 ------------------------------------------ 4 Denver 10 ------------------------------------------ 5 Minneapolis 10 ------------------------------------------ 6 Atlanta 9 ------------------------------------------ 7 Sacramento 7 ------------------------------------------ 8 Detroit 7 ------------------------------------------ 9 Dallas 7 ------------------------------------------ 10 San Francisco 7 ------------------------------------------ 11 Seattle 7 ------------------------------------------ 12 Chicago 6 ------------------------------------------ 13 Pittsburgh 6 ------------------------------------------ 14 Indianapolis 5 ------------------------------------------ 15 New York City 5 ------------------------------------------ 16 St. Louis 5 ------------------------------------------ 17 Cincinnati 5 ------------------------------------------ 18 Miami 5 ------------------------------------------ 19 San Diego 5 ------------------------------------------ 20 Baltimore 4 ------------------------------------------ 21 Portland 4 ------------------------------------------ 22 Boston 3 ------------------------------------------ 23 Los Angeles 3 ------------------------------------------ 24 Orlando 3 ------------------------------------------ 25 Philadelphia 3 ------------------------------------------ 26 Phoenix 3 ------------------------------------------ 27 Tampa 1 ------------------------------------------ 28 Washington, D.C. 1 ------------------------------------------The January results of the Monster Local Employment Index will be released on February 22, 2007.
About the Monster Local Employment Index
Providing a broad, comprehensive monthly analysis of online job demand in the top 28 U.S. metro markets, the Monster Local Employment Index is an extension of the national Monster Employment Index, which is compiled each month by researchers at Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNST), parent company of the leading global online career and recruitment resource, Monster(R). Based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from more than 1,500 Web sites, including Monster(R), the Monster Local Employment Index presents a snapshot of employer online recruitment activity in the top 28 U.S. markets with the largest working populations.
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, or recently created, job positions. All of the data and findings have been validated for accuracy through independent, monthly third party auditing conducted by ARC Research of Cranford, New Jersey. Individual Index reports containing data for each of the 28 metro markets, as well as additional information on occupational demand in each area, are now available at http://LocaleIndex.monsterworldwide.com.
About Monster Worldwide
Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNST) parent company of Monster(R), the premier global online employment solution for more than a decade, strives to bring people together to advance 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. Monster Worldwide is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the NASDAQ 100. To learn more about Monster's industry-leading products and services, visit www.monster.com. More information about Monster Worldwide is available at www.monsterworldwide.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 Kathryn Burns, 212-351-7063 kathryn.burns@monsterworldwide.com or Weber Shandwick Lauren McDonald, 617-520-7116 lmcdonald@webershandwick.com or Christian Harper, 212-445-8135 charper@webershandwick.com SOURCE: Monster Worldwide, Inc.
