May 2009 Index Highlights
- Index fell by two points erasing April’s minor uptick
- Year-over-year growth rate held relatively steady, suggesting stabilization in employer demand for workers
- Education and retail industries demonstrated growth in May, while opportunities in farming, transportation and utilities retracted
- Demand for engineering, IT and legal occupations fell as the broader professional, scientific and technical services industry experienced its steepest annual decline on record
- Online offerings fell across all major regions of the country and 19 of the 28 major metro markets in May
Summary Overview
The Monster Employment Index edged two points lower in May, as U.S. online recruitment activity eased slightly following a seasonal rise in April. Year-over-year, the Index was down 29 percent, a slight improvement from the previous month, indicating the rate of slowdown in the labor market may have stabilized.
“Although the Monster Employment Index experienced a mild decline in May, there are emerging signs of stability in the hiring market. The Index has remained within a four point band since January and the annual pace of decline seems to have leveled off,” said Jesse Harriott, Vice President of Research at Monster Worldwide. “While demand has eased across most sectors of the economy, industries such as education, retail and public administration are providing some bright spots.”
For the full report, please click on the link provided above.
MEI Local Reports
In addition to national, industry, occupation and regional data, the Monster Employment Index presents a snapshot of employer online recruitment activity in the 28 largest U.S. metro markets in terms of working population. The local results are broken down by occupation and are published at the same time as the national Index. Use the links below to see specific local market findings from the Index:
About the Monster Employment Index
Launched in April 2004 with data collected since October 2003, the Monster Employment Index is a broad and comprehensive monthly analysis of U.S. online job demand conducted by Monster Worldwide, Inc. Based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large, representative selection of online career outlets, including Monster®, the Monster Employment Index presents a snapshot of employer online recruitment activity nationwide. The Monster Employment Index’s underlying data is validated for accuracy by Research America, Inc. – an independent, third-party auditing firm – to ensure that measured online job recruitment activity is within a margin of error of +/- 1.05%. Data for the month of June will be released on July 1, 2009.