Online Recruitment Activity Rises in 20 of Top 28 U.S. Metro Markets in April, According to the Monster Local Employment Index

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 18, 2006--MONSTER WORLDWIDE:

Online Job Demand for Management; and Business and Financial Workers Increases across Majority of Markets Online Job Opportunities in IT; and Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations Spike

According to the latest findings of the Monster Local Employment Index, online job availability increased in 20 of the 28 top U.S. metropolitan areas during April, reflecting a continued rise in online hiring demand in a majority of major U.S. metro areas.

During the past month, nine metropolitan markets showed strong growth in online recruitment activity, while 11 saw a slight-to-moderate rise, five showed flat growth, and three declined. The Index grew by five points in Cincinnati, Phoenix and Portland during April, by four points in Cleveland and Indianapolis, and by three points in Detroit, Houston, Minneapolis and the New York City metro area. Meanwhile, online job availability in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. decreased by one point, and fell four points in Pittsburgh.

"The solid growth in employer demand we see in April in the Monster Local Employment Index across a majority of the top metro areas in the country is further evidence of the continued strength in the U.S. labor market," said Steve Pogorzelski, Group President, International at Monster Worldwide. "For graduating college seniors, the job market is looking extremely optimistic. Healthy corporate earnings, retiring baby boomers and a willingness to recruit and train all suggest that worker supply continues to be restrained and wages are beginning to rise."

During April, online recruitment activity for management occupations grew in 25 of the top 28 metro areas, with the largest rate of month-to-month increase registered in Cincinnati and Detroit. Over the 12-month duration of the Index, however, Denver and Sacramento top the list of fastest growing markets in this category. For business and financial operations occupations, 17 markets edged higher, with Portland logging the largest jump between March and April. Meanwhile, Phoenix and Seattle demonstrated the sharpest year-over-year growth for business and financial operations occupations.

Twenty-three metro markets demonstrated growth in online recruitment activity for life, physical, and social science occupations during April. Cleveland, Indianapolis and Portland saw the largest increases in demand, with Baltimore and Dallas registering strong growth, as well. Much of the hiring in this category is focused on workers in research institutes and academic institutions as well as R&D units of major corporations. Additionally, online job availability for IT workers (computer and mathematical) increased in 20 of the top 28 local markets, with particular strength in Cincinnati and Kansas City.

Food preparation and serving related occupations also saw a greater number of online opportunities in 25 of the 28 markets tracked with Phoenix, Portland and Seattle registering the largest rate of increase month-to-month. Boston and New York also saw sizable gains last month, while Miami and Pittsburgh demonstrated strong growth over the 12-month period. Seasonal factors such as warmer weather were potential contributors to the elevated demand, as was strong continued growth in the restaurant and hotel industries.

Twenty-two markets registered increased online recruitment for transportation and material moving workers with particular strength in Seattle, Portland and Minneapolis. The broad increase suggests that high gas prices have not yet taken a toll on hiring activity in the transportation sector, which is enjoying strong momentum thanks to the booming economy and intense domestic and international trade. Furthermore, a wide array of businesses are using extra fees and fuel surcharges to shift some of their rising energy costs to consumers. Significant increases in online demand for transportation and material moving workers were measured in Houston, Orlando and St. Louis in recent months. Dallas, by contrast, dipped in April, and Pittsburgh has remained essentially flat over the last year.

Overall results for the top 28 U.S. metro markets over the past 12 months are as follows:

Apr-Mar-Feb-Jan-Dec-Nov-Oct-Sep-Aug-Jul-Jun-May- 06 06 06 06 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 05 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Atlanta 111 110 108 103 104 105 106 104 103 101 100 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Baltimore 109 107 106 103 105 107 105 103 101 100 101 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boston 108 107 105 102 103 104 105 103 101 100 100 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Chicago 108 107 105 100 102 104 104 102 100 99 99 101 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cincinnati 111 106 107 103 103 106 106 106 104 102 101 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cleveland 110 106 105 99 99 101 101 102 102 99 100 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dallas 112 110 107 102 104 104 103 100 100 99 100 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Denver 117 115 109 105 103 108 107 106 104 101 102 98 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Detroit 112 109 109 104 102 108 108 107 103 104 101 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Houston 116 113 111 105 105 105 102 100 100 100 100 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Indianapolis 113 109 107 101 104 104 104 101 100 98 99 101 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Kansas City 110 108 106 100 101 103 103 102 101 101 100 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Los Angeles 109 110 107 104 104 107 105 103 102 100 101 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Miami 110 110 108 103 103 101 103 103 101 98 102 98 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Minneapolis 117 114 111 106 106 109 108 107 105 102 101 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- New York City 109 106 106 100 102 104 103 101 102 99 100 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Orlando 106 106 104 99 98 100 98 100 100 99 104 96 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Philadelphia 106 106 106 105 104 104 104 102 101 100 101 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Phoenix 121 116 112 110 111 112 109 106 104 101 100 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pittsburgh 108 112 110 106 104 107 106 104 103 101 100 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Portland 112 107 109 105 106 106 107 104 103 100 100 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sacramento 116 114 113 102 103 105 104 101 101 99 101 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- San Diego 114 113 115 106 108 109 108 106 104 100 101 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- San Francisco 112 112 111 104 105 105 105 103 102 100 101 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Seattle 117 115 112 108 107 108 108 107 105 102 101 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- St. Louis 111 110 108 104 102 104 104 102 101 100 100 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tampa 111 111 108 106 104 105 105 102 102 99 100 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Washington, D.C. 105 106 105 102 102 104 105 103 102 102 101 99 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

The May results of the Monster Local Employment Index will be released on June 15, 2006.

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

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 largest Recruitment Advertising agencies in North America. Headquartered in New York with approximately 4,300 employees in 25 countries, Monster Worldwide (NASDAQ: MNST) is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the NASDAQ 100. More information about Monster Worldwide is available at www.monsterworldwide.com.

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 26 local language and content sites in 24 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.

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CONTACT: Weber Shandwick Lauren McDonald, 617-520-7116 lmcdonald@webershandwick.com or Cary Barbour, 212-445-8037 cbarbour@webershandwick.com SOURCE: Monster Worldwide, Inc.