Monster Employment Index Up 7% Year over Year in January

• A year of positive annual growth - at 7 percent in January - signaling sustained, measured growth


• All 28 metro markets record positive annual growth in January


• Mining and wholesale trade lead all sectors
  in annual growth. Professional, scientific, and technical services rises
  with particularly strong demand for IT and engineering specialists


• Index declines 8 points (6 percent) in
  January on monthly basis, as employer's scale back hiring activity
  following a relatively active December. A seasonal December-January
  decline has now been recorded for 4 consecutive years


• Public administration records an unprecedented 21 percent annual decline, reaching its lowest annual growth rate in the Index

The Monster Employment Index
is a monthly gauge of U.S. online job demand based on a real-time
review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large
representative selection of corporate career Web sites and job boards,
including Monster.com(R).

We're seeing positive year-over-year growth as economic recovery
progresses at a measured pace, said Jesse Harriott, senior vice
president and chief knowledge officer at Monster Worldwide. Private
sector hiring, particularly in IT, business and healthcare occupations
has been fueling growth which is encouraging. At the same time cuts in
government-related recruitment since December are weighing down on
overall growth, but not enough to prevent YoY growth for the first month
of 2011.

Industry Year-over-year Trends: 12 of the 20 industries monitored by the Index showed positive annual growth trends.

• Wholesale Trade (up 14
  percent) was amongst the top-moving sectors in January, in contrast to
  seasonal expectations, as sector employers appeared to carry- over their
  year-end momentum into 2011


• Professional, scientific, and technical services
  (up 14 percent) remained strong year-over-year, and stable
  month-over-month due to particularly strong demand for IT and
  engineering specialists


• Accommodation and food services (down
  16 percent) was amongst the slowest growing sectors in the Index
  following a relatively active month of online hiring activity in
  December


• Finance and insurance (up 2
  percent) remained flat from December on an annual basis, yet demand
  trends for workers in a number of financial service occupations remained
  high


• Public administration (down 21 percent) registered the steepest annual decline, with eased job creation for federal and local government

Top Growth Industries

Lowest Growth Industries

Occupation Year-over-year Trends:Annual online demand for workers rose in 15 of the 23 occupational categories in January.

• Architecture and Engineering (up 16 percent) and Computer and mathematical
  (up 14 percent) registered improved demand trends with a general
  escalation in job availability for professionals with advanced technical
  specializations


• Business and financial operations
  (up 15 percent) saw improved demand conditions for accountants and
  financial analysts across a wide range of sectors, across all geographic
  regions

Top Growth Occupations

Lowest Growth Occupations

Geographic year-over-year Trends:All 28 metro markets recorded positive annual growth in January

• Detroit (up 51 percent) and Philadelphia (up 39 percent) continued to remain among top growth markets.


• San Diego (up 8 percent)
  remained stable year-over-year but recorded a mild monthly decline of 3
  percent in January. Online recruitment trends were strongest for
  production; sales; and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media
  related occupations in the long-term


• Among the 50 states and the District, 40 registered annual increases in online job demand.

Top Growth Metro Markets

Lowest Growth Metro Markets

International Trends:

• Monster Employment Index Europe
  continued a steady positive annual growth rate (up 22 percent in
  December) ending the year with relatively strengthened demand for
  production; manufacturing and transportation/ logistics sectors. Germany
  continued to be the strongest overall creator of job opportunities in
  Europe


• Monster Employment Index India
  annual growth rate accelerated to 27 percent in December 2010, with
  demand picking notably for the IT sector. Several other categories
  including banking/ finance and engineering continued to exhibit strong
  long-term growth

To obtain a full copy of the Monster Employment Index report for
January 2011, and to access current individual data charts for each of
the 28 metro markets tracked, please visit about-monster.com/employment-index. Data for the month of February 2011 will be released on March 3, 2011.