European Online Recruitment Decelerates Sequentially but Registers Annual Growth of 9%, According to the Monster Employment Index

MEI Europe Jan MoM and YoY Growth (Graphic: Business Wire)

MEI Europe Jan MoM and YoY Growth (Graphic: Business Wire)

NEW YORK--()--Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:MWW):

January 2012 Index Highlights:

  • The Monster Employment Index Europe demonstrates a year-over-year growth of nine percent in January, a contrast to the double digit growth seen throughout 2011
  • Germany remains the only country to demonstrate strong annual growth of 30 percent and continues to lead all countries by measure of annual growth
  • The Netherlands, Italy, Belgium and France continue to report negative growth rates in January
  • Production, manufacturing, maintenance and repair matches the 22 percent growth rate of Engineering to become the top two growth industries this month
  • Management and consulting, down 11 percent, tracks the greatest annual decline in recruitment activity; other sectors to report annual rates of decline include Public sector, Arts and Education

The Monster Employment Index Europe is a monthly gauge of online job demand based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large representative selection of career web sites and online job listings across Europe. The Index does not reflect the trend of any one advertiser or source, but is an aggregate measure of the change in job listings across the industry.

“As the challenging economic conditions continue, the Index confirms the trend of recent months with fewer online recruitment opportunities in January as employers maintain a cautious approach to hiring,” commented Alan Townsend, Vice President of Sales Readiness and Business Operations for Monster Europe. “However, while recruitment activity may have slowed from a general perspective, there are still pockets of demand for positions across industries such as production, telecommunication and transport, which are helping to maintain an overall positive growth track for Europe.”

Monster Employment Index Europe results for the past 18 months are as follows:

Aug
10

 

Sep
10

 

Oct
10

 

Nov
10

 

Dec
10

 

Jan
11

 

Feb
11

 

Mar
11

 

Apr
11

 

May
11

 

 

Jun
11

 

Jul
11

 

Aug
11

 

Sep
11

 

Oct
11

 

Nov
11

 

Dec
11

 

Jan
12

  Y-O-Y
115   117   122   122   122   116   125   131   136   135   140   139   139   138   139   139   136   127   9%

Industry Year-over-year Trends: 17 of the 24 industry sectors monitored by the Index in January exhibited positive annual growth trends.

  • Production, manufacturing, maintenance and repair (up 22 percent) joined Engineering (up 22 percent) to become the top two annual growth sectors in January, despite both registering slower growth compared to December
  • Transport, post and logistics (up 17 percent) continues to register positive annual growth albeit at a slower rate than recent months. This can be attributed in part to reduced demand for shipping and logistics positions, typically seen at the start of a new year
  • Real estate (up 16 percent) maintained fifth position in the Index this month with notable demand for leasing and property management positions
  • Marketing, PR and media (down two percent) experienced a slightly slower rate of annual growth in January, moving into the bottom-five growth industries
  • Management and consulting (down 11 percent) noted further reductions in online recruitment compared to a year ago, supplanting Public sector, defence, community as the weakest performing sector in the Index
 
Top Growth Industries Lowest Growth Industries
                           
Industry  

Jan
11

 

Jan
12

 

%
Y-O-Y
Growth

Industry  

Jan
11

 

Jan
12

 

%
Y-O-Y
Growth

Engineering   130   158   22%

Education, training and
library

  192   191   -1%

Production, manufacturing,
maintenance, repair

  200   243   22% Marketing, PR and media   131   129   -2%
Telecommunication   86   102   19%

Arts, entertainment, sports,
leisure

  105   102   -3%

Transport, post and
logistics

  144   169   17%

Public sector, defence,
community

  81   75   -7%
Real estate   104   121   16%

Management and
consulting

  109   97   -11%
           

Occupation Year-over-year Trends: Eight out of the nine occupational groups monitored by the Index in January continued to exhibit positive growth trends for the second consecutive month.

  • Craft and related trades (up 29 percent) completed its ninth consecutive month as the leading occupational group while noting slightly slowed demand in-line with trends seen across production and construction sectors
  • Elementary occupations (up 14 percent) claimed third place in the Index by measure of annual growth, reflecting an ongoing expansion in demand for lower-skilled workers, primarily for non-permanent employment positions
  • Managers (down ten percent) remained the only occupation to register negative growth in January aligned to reduced recruitment across the majority of sectors
 
Top Growth Occupations Lowest Growth Occupations
                           
Occupation  

Jan
11

 

Jan
12

 

%
Y-O-Y
Growth

Occupation  

Jan
11

 

Jan
12

 

%
Y-O-Y
Growth

Craft and related trades
workers

  172   222   29%

Plant and machine
operators, and assemblers

  100   107   7%

Skilled agricultural, forestry
and fishery workers

  136   160   18% Professionals   117   124   6%
Elementary occupations   153   175   14% Managers   112   101   -10%
           

The full monthly Monster Employment Index reports for Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom will be made available on Tuesday, 14th February at 06:00 CET at: http://aboutmonster.com/employment/index/17.

Data for the month of February 2012 will be released on March 9, 2012.

By Region

                           
Region  

Jan
11

 

Feb
11

 

Mar
11

 

Apr
11

 

May
11

 

Jun
11

 

Jul
11

 

Aug
11

 

Sep
11

 

Oct
11

 

Nov
11

 

Dec
11

 

Jan
12

 

Y-O-Y
GROWTH

Belgium   101   113   120   125   119   118   113   109   102   107   102   101   98   -3%
France   124   136   138   146   144   150   148   139   132   139   136   132   123   -1%
Germany   133   139   151   159   158   164   166   172   175   171   175   177   173   30%
Italy   135   134   145   147   145   142   148   140   132   143   146   141   128   -5%
Netherlands   89   90   95   97   98   97   96   92   88   89   86   86   81   -9%
Sweden   143   163   161   167   170   161   149   146   149   148   150   158   143   0%
United Kingdom   128   139   137   138   136   141   140   138   135   140   140   141   129   1%
 

By Industry

                           
Industry  

Jan
11

 

Feb
11

 

Mar
11

 

Apr
11

 

May
11

 

Jun
11

 

Jul
11

 

Aug
11

 

Sep
11

 

Oct
11

 

Nov
11

 

Dec
11

 

Jan
12

 

Y-O-Y
GROWTH

Accounting, audit, taxes   91   93   99   102   101   102   101   98   97   99   99   98   93   2%
Administrative, organisation   95   102   107   107   108   112   109   112   110   111   111   111   104   9%
Agriculture, fishing and forestry   90   109   125   131   130   140   134   133   130   124   123   117   104   16%
Arts, entertainment, sports, leisure   105   106   111   112   113   119   116   113   107   108   110   109   102   -3%
Automotive   101   113   117   122   125   135   126   132   128   124   124   114   109   8%
Banking, finance, insurance   80   83   88   91   88   86   89   88   86   87   87   87   82   2%
Construction and extraction   113   122   129   134   135   141   140   144   142   138   137   130   122   8%
Education, training and library   192   211   200   215   218   233   218   208   191   205   202   218   191   -1%
Engineering   130   143   152   163   157   161   164   167   168   170   172   172   158   22%
Environment, architecture and urbanism   91   93   95   102   96   103   102   102   101   102   103   107   100   10%
Healthcare, social work   575   612   635   628   623   640   633   624   625   594   628   613   573   0%
Hospitality and tourism   195   217   243   257   257   256   244   247   256   252   251   238   221   13%
HR   85   90   93   95   95   96   95   95   94   94   94   94   91   7%
IT   93   97   100   101   100   104   103   101   99   101   103   102   97   4%
Legal   111   121   121   121   118   119   117   117   114   116   118   112   111   0%
Management and consulting   109   109   113   115   111   115   114   114   112   110   108   104   97   -11%
Marketing, PR and media   131   136   144   149   143   149   147   148   143   146   143   139   129   -2%
Production, manufacturing, maintenance, repair   200   218   238   251   248   259   264   269   271   270   267   259   243   22%
Public sector, defence, community   81   84   87   84   82   83   81   81   80   81   80   75   75   -7%
Real estate   104   111   122   130   126   123   121   120   118   125   124   121   121   16%
Research and development   107   115   118   122   121   123   121   120   119   119   119   117   113   6%
Sales   97   106   107   108   107   112   110   109   108   111   111   107   102   5%
Telecommunications   86   97   99   112   113   102   105   109   109   114   114   109   102   19%
Transport, post and logistics   144   150   162   176   182   190   195   193   195   196   195   192   169   17%
 

By Occupation

                           
Occupation  

Jan
11

 

Feb
11

 

Mar
11

 

Apr
11

 

May
11

 

Jun
11

 

Jul
11

 

Aug
11

 

Sep
11

 

Oct
11

 

Nov
11

 

Dec
11

 

Jan
12

 

Y-O-Y
GROWTH

Managers   112   113   115   117   113   118   118   115   111   113   108   112   101   -10%
Professionals   117   126   131   136   133   137   137   136   134   135   136   133   124   6%

Technicians and associate
professionals

  108   116   122   123   126   127   124   125   124   126   127   125   118   9%
Clerical support workers   123   133   138   142   143   146   144   147   143   145   144   144   132   7%
Service and sales workers   234   265   286   301   298   311   300   297   303   303   304   288   265   13%

Skilled agricultural, forestry and
fishery workers

  136   164   189   200   196   220   208   205   203   194   191   184   160   18%
Craft and related workers   172   190   206   220   221   230   236   242   246   245   247   238   222   29%

Plant and machine operators, and
assemblers

  100   110   119   124   122   129   125   124   122   122   113   116   107   7%
Elementary occupations   153   162   178   187   180   194   195   202   203   195   196   182   175   14%
 

About The Monster Employment Index Europe

The Monster Employment Index Europe provides monthly insight into online recruitment trends across the European Union. Launched in June 2005 with data from December 2004, the Index is based on a review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large, representative selection of corporate career sites and job boards, including Monster. 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 national online job recruitment activity is within a margin of error of +/- 1.05%.

The Index monitors online job opportunities across all European Union member countries.

The monthly reports for Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Europe are available at: http://about-monster.com/employment/index/17.

About Monster Worldwide

Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: MWW - News), parent company of Monster, the premier global online employment solution for more than a decade, strives to inspire people to improve their lives. With a local presence in key markets in North America, Europe, and Asia, Monster works for everyone by connecting employers with quality job seekers at all levels and by providing personalized career advice to consumers globally. Through online media sites and services, Monster delivers vast, highly targeted audiences to advertisers. To learn more about Monster's industry-leading products and services, visit www.monster.com. More information about Monster Worldwide is available at http://about-monster.com.

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 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.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50156457&lang=en

Contacts

Weber Shandwick
Hannah Lifford, +44 (0)207 067 0500
MonsterEurope@webershandwick.com

Contacts

Weber Shandwick
Hannah Lifford, +44 (0)207 067 0500
MonsterEurope@webershandwick.com