NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 17, 2006--Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNST):
July 2006 Monster Local Employment Index Highlights: -- Index shows greater online job availability in 11 markets in July, compared to just two markets in June, suggesting a slight rebound in employer recruitment activity -- Denver registers highest rate of increase from previous month; Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Orlando and Sacramento also exhibit strong growth -- Online demand for protective service and military specific occupations rises in a majority of local markets in July, mirroring nationwide growth trend -- Opportunities for workers in education, training and library increase in many markets, as back-to-school season approaches -- Roughly one third of the 28 markets show a downward trend for architecture and engineering positions over the past year, including Boston, New York and Washington, D.C.Online job availability rose in 11 of the 28 top U.S. metropolitan areas during July, suggesting a slight rebound in online recruitment activity across major U.S. metro areas following a seasonal slowdown seen in the previous month of June.
The latest findings of the Monster Local Employment Index show growth in online opportunities in more than a third of the markets tracked last month, with Denver registering the strongest month-to-month increase, rising three points, and Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Orlando and Sacramento all edging up two points. Seven markets remained unchanged from their June levels, while 10 registered declines of varying degrees. Boston and St. Louis saw the sharpest declines, falling four and three points respectively.
"In addition to demonstrating a slight rebound in online recruitment activity last month across more than a third of the markets tracked, the July findings of the Monster Local Employment Index point to continued strength in defense and security-related hiring throughout much of the country, and an overall pick-up in academic recruiting as schools began hiring for the fast-approaching fall semester," said Steve Pogorzelski, Group President, International at Monster Worldwide. "Other notable trends include strong demand for healthcare workers in the Phoenix area, robust online job availability for production workers in Houston and a still-growing number of opportunities for construction workers in the Seattle area."
Continuing a nationwide trend, online demand for protective service and military related occupations rose across most markets in July, while opportunities for workers in education, training and library also increased, signaling a pick-up in hiring in advance of the back-to-school season. In contrast, online job availability for architecture and engineering positions continued a mostly downward trend across roughly one third of the markets tracked, particularly in east coast markets such as Boston, New York and Washington, D.C.
Overall, Phoenix, Houston, Minneapolis, Denver, and Seattle remained the fastest growing markets over the past twelve months, reflecting booming local economies and continued strong demand for labor despite the July rise in the national unemployment rate to 4.8 percent. Despite some strength in recruitment activity for legal, creative and healthcare support occupations, the Washington, D.C. metro area continued to show the slowest rate of growth in online recruitment activity of all 28 markets tracked. Nevertheless, online job availability per capita in the D.C. region remained strong and its unemployment rate was still at a relatively low level.
During July, Phoenix continued to demonstrate sharp growth in healthcare employment opportunities, along with solid demand for a variety of white-collar positions. The Phoenix area has seen the fastest rate of growth in overall payroll employment year over year among all the markets tracked by the Index. Meanwhile, online job availability for production workers continued to rise in Houston last month, where manufacturing employment has increased by nearly three percent for the year in strong contrast to the flatness seen on a national level. Demand for construction and building occupations remained strong in the Seattle metro area in July. While related payroll growth has slowed in many parts of the country, the Pacific Northwest has continued to add construction jobs due to in-migration and corporate expansion.
Overall results for the top 28 U.S. metro markets over the past 12 months are as follows:
JUL JUN MAY APR MAR FEB JAN DEC NOV OCT SEP AUG JUL 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 05 05 05 05 05 05 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Atlanta 106 106 106 106 105 103 99 100 101 101 100 98 97 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Baltimore 102 103 103 104 103 102 99 101 103 101 99 98 97 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boston 100 104 106 104 103 102 99 100 101 102 100 98 97 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Chicago 104 105 106 105 104 102 97 99 101 101 100 98 97 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cincinnati 106 105 109 105 101 102 98 100 101 101 101 99 98 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cleveland 105 106 107 108 104 103 97 97 99 99 100 100 97 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dallas 107 107 108 107 106 103 98 100 101 100 97 97 96 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Denver 109 106 109 109 107 102 99 98 101 101 99 98 96 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Detroit 104 104 106 105 103 103 99 99 102 102 101 98 98 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Houston 112 111 112 110 107 105 100 100 100 97 96 96 96 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Indianapolis 107 105 106 109 105 103 98 99 100 100 98 97 95 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Kansas City 106 107 109 107 104 103 97 99 100 100 99 98 98 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Los Angeles 104 102 104 104 105 103 100 100 102 101 99 98 97 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Miami 103 105 106 106 106 104 100 100 98 100 99 98 95 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Minneapolis 109 109 108 107 106 103 99 100 102 101 100 99 96 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- New York City 102 104 106 106 103 103 98 99 101 100 99 99 97 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Orlando 103 101 103 103 103 101 100 100 101 101 100 99 97 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Philadelphia 102 101 103 103 103 103 101 101 101 100 99 98 97 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Phoenix 110 111 113 109 106 103 101 102 102 100 98 97 94 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pittsburgh 103 102 103 103 106 104 101 99 102 101 99 98 96 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Portland 107 108 110 106 102 103 100 101 101 102 99 98 96 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sacramento 105 103 106 109 108 107 98 98 100 100 97 97 95 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- San Diego 107 106 107 106 105 106 100 101 102 101 99 97 95 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- San Francisco 105 105 106 106 106 105 99 100 100 100 98 97 96 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Seattle 109 109 110 108 106 103 100 101 100 101 99 98 96 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- St. Louis 105 108 107 107 106 104 100 99 100 99 98 97 97 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tampa 104 104 106 106 106 104 101 99 100 100 98 97 96 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Washington, D.C. 101 100 102 102 103 102 99 100 101 102 100 99 99 ----------------------------------------------------------------------The August results of the Monster Local Employment Index will be released on September 19, 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. The company also owns TMP Worldwide, one of the largest Recruitment Advertising agencies in North America. Headquartered in New York with approximately 4,800 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 [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 28 local language and content sites in 26 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.