NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 19, 2006--Online demand across major U.S. cities eased a bit in September, following strong gains experienced in the back-to-school/back-to-work month of August, according to the latest findings of the Monster Local Employment Index. During September, online job availability rose in 11 of the top 28 U.S. metro areas, with ten other markets showing declines of varying degrees and seven holding on to solid gains achieved in the previous month.
Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, and Indianapolis were among the markets that saw increased online recruitment activity last month, with Minneapolis also gaining and now showing the most consistently upward growth trend over the first nine months of 2006. The Los Angeles metro area registered the largest rate of month-to-month increase in September, jumping three points, yet remained among the bottom-performing Index markets on a year-over-year basis. According to various reports, the Los Angeles market has slowed due to the cooling housing market and softer retail activity.
Houston, which rose two points last month, remained the fastest growing online recruitment market over the past year, amid higher demand for white- and blue-collar workers alike, especially in the areas of construction/extraction, transportation, production and technology. Kansas City, which also edged up two points in September, ranked as the second strongest market in year-over-year growth, driven mainly by increased online demand in the government sector and for computer and mathematical (IT, biotech) occupations.
Meanwhile, ten major metro areas showed slightly-to-moderately reduced online job availability, including several West Coast markets: Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle. Portland and San Diego, which were the top gainers in August, returned to more moderate levels amid lower demand for construction, food services, education, community and social services. Nevertheless, both markets continue to experience robust growth year-over-year.
A total of seven markets - Boston, Detroit, New York City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. - remained unchanged from elevated levels registered in August, demonstrating continued strength in their respective hiring environments.
In terms of occupational trends, the Index showed varying levels of demand across occupations in different markets in September. The two stand-outs were military-related occupations, which were in higher demand throughout all 28 metro areas last month, and protective service occupations, which saw increased online opportunities in a majority of the markets tracked.
"The Monster Local Employment Index findings for September are generally in line with the national Index findings we released earlier this month showing a slight easing in online recruitment activity following the strong surge in August," said Steve Pogorzelski, Group President, International at Monster Worldwide. "Not surprisingly, in this time of heightened homeland security, defense, security and public safety related positions are among the occupations that have seen the highest year-over-year growth in demand during the last 12 months across the 28 markets tracked."
Overall results for the top 28 U.S. metro markets over the past 12 months are as follows:
SEP AUG JUL JUN MAY APR MAR FEB JAN DEC NOV OCT SEP 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 05 05 05 05 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Atlanta 110 108 106 106 106 106 105 103 99 100 101 101 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Baltimore 106 107 102 103 103 104 103 102 99 101 103 101 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boston 107 107 100 104 106 104 103 102 99 100 101 102 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Chicago 108 107 104 105 106 105 104 102 97 99 101 101 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cincinnati 106 105 106 105 109 105 101 102 98 100 101 101 101 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cleveland 108 109 105 106 107 108 104 103 97 97 99 99 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dallas 110 109 107 107 108 107 106 103 98 100 101 100 97 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Denver 112 113 109 106 109 109 107 102 99 98 101 101 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Detroit 108 108 104 104 106 105 103 103 99 99 102 102 101 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Houston 117 115 112 111 112 110 107 105 100 100 100 97 96 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Indianapolis 108 107 107 105 106 109 105 103 98 99 100 100 98 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Kansas City 113 111 106 107 109 107 104 103 97 99 100 100 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Los Angeles 104 101 104 102 104 104 105 103 100 100 102 101 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Miami 106 105 103 105 106 106 106 104 100 100 98 100 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Minneapolis 113 111 109 109 108 107 106 103 99 100 102 101 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- New York City 106 106 102 104 106 106 103 103 98 99 101 100 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Orlando 105 105 103 101 103 103 103 101 100 100 101 101 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Philadelphia 105 105 102 101 103 103 103 103 101 101 101 100 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Phoenix 111 112 110 111 113 109 106 103 101 102 102 100 98 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pittsburgh 106 106 103 102 103 103 106 104 101 99 102 101 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Portland 112 115 107 108 110 106 102 103 100 101 101 102 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sacramento 106 109 105 103 106 109 108 107 98 98 100 100 97 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- San Diego 110 115 107 106 107 106 105 106 100 101 102 101 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- San Francisco 109 110 105 105 106 106 106 105 99 100 100 100 98 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Seattle 112 115 109 109 110 108 106 103 100 101 100 101 99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- St. Louis 109 108 105 108 107 107 106 104 100 99 100 99 98 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tampa 103 106 104 104 106 106 106 104 101 99 100 100 98 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Washington, D.C. 106 106 101 100 102 102 103 102 99 100 101 102 100 ----------------------------------------------------------------------The October results of the Monster Local Employment Index will be released on November 20, 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 [1].
About Monster Worldwide
Founded in 1967, Monster Worldwide, Inc. is the parent company of Monster(R), the leading global online careers and recruitment resource. Headquartered in New York with approximately 4,200 employees in 36 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 [2].
About Monster
Monster(R) is the leading global online careers and recruitment resource. 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 34 local language and content sites in 32 countries worldwide. More information is available at www.monster.com [3] or by calling 1-800-MONSTER. To learn more about Monster's industry-leading employer products and services, please visit http://info.monster.com [4].
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 [5] or Weber Shandwick Lauren McDonald, 617-520-7116 lmcdonald@webershandwick.com [6] or Christian Harper, 212-445-8135 charper@webershandwick.com [7] SOURCE: Monster Worldwide, Inc.