NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 5, 2004--Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNST)
-- Slight Decrease in Online Job Availability Likely Reflecting Minor Seasonal Slowdown in Hiring -- Online Demand Remains Strong in Professional Categories, Especially for Workers in Business & Financial Operations, Legal, Education and Training Library -- Industries Showing Greatest Increases in Online Job Availability Include Manufacturing, Finance & Insurance, Wholesale Trade, Professional/Scientific & Technical Services, Agriculture, Construction, and Management of Companies and EnterprisesOverall demand for workers and related online job recruitment activity across the United States eased back slightly in July, yet remained near its high mark for the year, according to the Monster Employment Index. Marking the Index's first month of decline since December 2003, the modest contraction in online job availability in July potentially reflects a seasonal slowdown in recruitment. Nevertheless, online job demand remained strong within a variety of industries and professional categories during the month.
Overall, the Index declined two points to 134 in July from 136 in June. Results for the first seven months of 2004 are as follows:
July June May April March February January --------------------------------------------------------------- 134 136 128 125 109 107 102 ---------------------------------------------------------------The Monster Employment Index is a broad and comprehensive monthly analysis of U.S. online job demand based on data from more than 1,500 Web sites conducted by Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNST), the parent company of the leading global online careers property, Monster(R).
Industries that saw job availability scale back during the month of July and contributed to the two-point decline of the Monster Employment Index included educational services, accommodation & food services, transportation & warehousing, and mining. This marked the first time in five months that educational services experienced a decline in job availability.
Online job demand remained strong in many other industries during the month of July, with more than half of the industries tracked experiencing varying degrees of growth. Manufacturing, wholesale trade, information, agriculture & forestry and construction all edged higher. Professional, scientific & technical services registered a sharp upward trend for the second straight month, while finance & insurance continued a six-month growth trend, and management of companies & enterprises extended a five-month positive trend. Utilities, administrative/support, and healthcare all saw four months of modest sequential growth.
Occupational categories that saw the biggest declines in job availability during the month of July included personal care & service; food preparation & serving; building/grounds cleaning & maintenance; farming, fishing & forestry; life, physical & social science; arts, design, entertainment, sports & media; architecture and engineering. Online demand for sales occupations remained flat for the first time in seven months and online job availability for blue-collar/hourly job categories either declined or remained flat. Despite the declines many experienced in July, most occupational categories remained at levels way above where they were at the beginning of the year. The only exception to this was healthcare support (home health aides, nursing aides, dental assistants, massage therapists, etc.), which came in slightly below its December 2003 mark.
Other occupational categories continued to register growth in online job availability. Occupations showing seven months of sequential growth included business & financial operations, legal, and education, training & library. Demand for healthcare practitioners/technical staff also increased for the second straight month.
"Given the strong six-month upward trend we've seen showing online job demand growth across 1,500 sites, we believe the slight easing back in July is reflective of a minor seasonal slowdown in hiring," said Jeff Taylor, Founder and Chief Monster. "This kind of hiring deceleration is quite common during mid-summer months and often involves specific industries that typically rely on blue-collar/hourly positions. Examples of these industries include accommodation & food services as well as building/grounds cleaning and maintenance. It's also important to note that a modest contraction like this is consistent with other recent economic data suggesting slower but continued labor market growth."
"In terms of which companies were driving growth and who was pulling back, market leaders continued to drive the largest volume of postings, accounting for more than 80 percent of all the postings, and they were the only ones to show increases during July," continued Taylor. "Medium-sized companies remained essentially flat, while small companies with less than 100 employees showed the sharpest decline. In terms of the bigger picture, the Index remains at its second-highest level, which is still far above the levels at which it began the year."
Regional Online Job Demand in July
According to the Monster Employment Index, regional online job demand for workers in July experienced slight to notable decreases in the Pacific, East North Central and East South Central regions. Demand was essentially unchanged or slightly up in the New England, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic and Mountain regions. The West South Central region experienced its third consecutive monthly decline during July, driven by Texas. The West North Central region, which includes Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas, saw the biggest increase in online demand, with Minnesota and Missouri contributing the greatest job availability. All nine U.S. regions remained above the Index levels at which they began 2004.
Individual states that saw the greatest declines in online job availability during July included Wisconsin, Wyoming, Texas, Kentucky, New Mexico, South Dakota and Tennessee. Others, including Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Maryland and West Virginia saw sizable increases in online job demand compared to June. Factoring in online job demand growth in terms of total working population, the Monster Employment Index found the following states to be among the top ten in terms of online job availability growth during the month of July:
1. Arizona 2. District of Columbia 3. Delaware 4. Maryland 5. Virginia 6. California 7. Connecticut 8. Massachusetts 9. Florida 10. New JerseyAs in June, California continued to lead the nation with the largest number of job opportunities online in July.
Top Five Industries Looking for Employees in July
During the month of July, the Monster Employment Index showed an increase in online job demand across many U.S. industries, with healthcare continuing to offer the greatest volume of online job availability compared to all other industries. Industries showing the greatest increase in job availability in July included:
Industries July June May April ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Professional, Scientific & Technical Services 157 135 118 126 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Finance & Insurance 151 142 132 125 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting 128 120 101 87 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Wholesale Trade 135 131 134 128 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Construction 112 109 101 103 ----------------------------------------------------------------------Most Wanted Occupational Experience
Occupational categories showing the largest increase in online job demand in July included:
Occupations July June May April ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Legal 129 125 124 122 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Education, Training & Library 150 146 136 124 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Business & Financial Operations 126 123 122 118 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Healthcare Practitioners & Technical 102 100 92 96 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Computer and Mathematical 104 103 105 105 ----------------------------------------------------------------------Online Job Recruitment Across the Country
The following U.S. Census regions measured by the Index saw either growth or a decline, and in one instance remained unchanged, from June to July:
U.S. Census Regions July June May April ---------------------------------------------------------------------- West North Central 137 133 130 128 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- New England 155 154 145 141 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic 132 131 124 121 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Mountain 161 161 154 145 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Mid-Atlantic 136 135 131 125 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- East North Central 131 133 128 126 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pacific 145 147 140 129 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- East South Central 135 139 133 127 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- West South Central 125 132 134 136 ----------------------------------------------------------------------Based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from more than 1,500 Web sites, including a variety of corporate career sites, job boards and Monster, the Monster Employment Index presents a snapshot of employer online recruitment activity nationwide. 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 job positions.
All of the data and findings in the Monster Employment Index have been validated for accuracy through independent, third party auditing conducted on a monthly basis by ARC Research, a Cranford, New Jersey-based provider of innovative click and brick market research solutions. The audit validates the accuracy of the online job recruitment activity measured for the last six months within a margin of error of +/- 1.05%.
Additional information on the Monster Employment Index is available online at http://eIndex.monsterworldwide.com [1]. The Monster Employment Index will report results monthly. Data for August will be released on September 2, 2004.
About Monster Worldwide
Founded in 1967, Monster Worldwide, Inc. is the parent company of Monster(R), the leading global online careers property. The company also owns TMP Worldwide, the world's largest Yellow Pages advertising agency and one of the world's largest Recruitment Advertising agency networks. TMP Worldwide is also a provider of direct marketing services. Headquartered in New York with approximately 5,000 employees in 26 countries, Monster Worldwide (NASDAQ: MNST) is a member of the S&P 500 Index. More information about Monster Worldwide is available at www.monsterworldwide.com [2].
Celebrating its 10-year anniversary, 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 22 local language and content sites in 20 countries worldwide. Monster is the official online career management services sponsor of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team. 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://recruiter.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, Inc. David Rosa, 212-351-7067 david.rosa@monsterworldwide.com [5] or Weber Shandwick Christian Harper, 212-445-8135 charper@webershandwick.com [6] SOURCE: Monster Worldwide, Inc.