NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 1, 2004--Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNST)
- Increased Online Demand for Workers with Experience in Healthcare, Education & Training, Life & Social Sciences, and Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports and Media
- Industries with Greatest Increase in Online Job Availability Include Finance & Insurance, Professional/Scientific & Technical Services, Agriculture, Construction, and Transportation
Demand for workers and related online job recruitment activity across the United States increased in June, according to the Monster Employment Index, marking six consecutive months of growth in 2004. The Monster Employment Index is a broad and comprehensive monthly analysis of U.S. online job demand conducted by Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNST), the parent company of the leading global online careers property, Monster(R).
The June findings of the Monster Employment Index report that most industries experienced moderate growth in online job availability, with sharp upward trends occurring within the finance & insurance, professional & technical services, agriculture & forestry, construction, and transportation & warehousing industries. Overall, the Index rose to 136 in June from 128 in May. Results for the first six months of 2004 are as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------- June May April March February January ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 136 128 125 109 107 102 ----------------------------------------------------------------------During June, occupational categories with the largest increase in job availability included life & social sciences, art & design, healthcare practitioners, education & training, and healthcare support. Online job availability for blue-collar/hourly job categories was generally flat in June with moderate declines occurring within building/grounds maintenance, food preparation & serving, construction, and installation/maintenance & repair positions.
According to the Index, regional demand for workers also increased across nearly every region of the United States, except the West South Central region, which includes Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. The New England region posted the greatest rise from May to June, driven largely by the state of Rhode Island. With respect to individual states, Wyoming, Iowa, Nebraska, and Wisconsin showed the largest increases in demand over the past month, while South Dakota, Texas and Missouri saw minor decreases in demand between May and June. As in May, California continued to lead the nation with the largest number of job opportunities online in June.
"The Monster Employment Index showed a solid rise in online job demand for the month of June and continued the steady upward growth trend that began back in January," said Jeff Taylor, Founder and Chief Monster. "Looking back over the past few months of data, we see a strong five-month growth trend in finance and insurance, as well as a series of significant three-month growth trends in healthcare, education, real estate, professional/scientific, and accommodation/food service. In addition, as we might have expected, we have seen a sharp decline over the past two months in online job demand in the retail space, potentially due to a seasonal hiring slowdown. With respect to demand for specific occupations, we have seen a three-month rise in a number of professional occupations, including management, architecture and engineering, scientific, education and media."
Mr. Taylor continued, "Since January, online job demand has increased across a broad range of industries and throughout most of the country's regions, with vertical industry market leaders driving the bulk of the growth. In addition, the Index indicates an up-tick in hiring activity across companies of every size, although it's interesting to note that the sharpest increases in June took place within medium-sized companies."
Top Five Industries Looking for Employees in June
During the month of June, the Monster Employment Index shows an increase in online job demand across most U.S. industries and across a broad range of occupations. The healthcare industry continued to offer the greatest online job availability overall and registered a slight increase in June. Other industries showing the greatest increase in job availability in June included:
Industries June May April March ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting 120 101 87 102 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Professional, Scientific & Technical Services 135 118 126 93 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Finance & Insurance 142 132 125 112 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Construction 109 101 103 107 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Transportation and Warehousing 122 116 110 112 ----------------------------------------------------------------------Most Wanted Occupational Experience
Online job availability increased moderately across most occupational categories tracked by the Monster Employment Index during June, with the largest increase in demand for workers seen in life & social sciences, healthcare practitioners, education & training, healthcare support, and arts, design, entertainment, sports and media.
Occupations June May April March ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Life, Physical and Social Sciences 141 122 117 113 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports & Media 147 135 138 116 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Healthcare Practitioners & Technical 100 92 96 89 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Education, Training & Library 146 136 124 113 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Healthcare Support 105 98 97 86 ----------------------------------------------------------------------Online Job Recruitment Increases Across the Country
June data also revealed a modest upward trend in nearly all U.S. Census regions for job opportunities posted online, except the West South Central region. The greatest increase in online job availability occurred within the New England region. Key U.S. Census regions measured by the Index saw the following growth, and in one instance a decrease, from May to June:
---------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Census Regions June May April March ---------------------------------------------------------------------- New England 154 145 141 112 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic 131 124 121 108 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Mountain 161 154 145 115 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- East South Central 139 133 127 113 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- East North Central 133 128 126 112 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pacific 147 140 129 112 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Mid-Atlantic 135 131 125 111 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- West North Central 133 130 128 109 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- West South Central 132 134 136 115 ----------------------------------------------------------------------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 July will be released on August 5, 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 4,600 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.