Monster Employment Index Europe Shows Third Consecutive Month of Growth

The Monster Employment Index Europe grew three points to a new high of 133 in April, registering a third consecutive month of growth. Online job demand grew strongly in Germany, following seven months of little or no change. France, the Netherlands and Sweden also showed strong rises, as the United Kingdom declined to just about its pre-March level. Year-on-year, the Index is up 17 points, or 15%. The Index is based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from Web sites across Europe, including Monster?.

Heavy industries including production, manufacturing, maintenance and repair; and transport, post and logistics were among the sectors showing the most gains in April. Other major sectors saw only small movements, as both IT and Telecommunications saw declines in online hiring.

Blue-collar occupational groups traditionally hired by heavy industries saw the highest increases in online opportunities in April. Demand for white-collar workers declined, in part, due to the decrease in IT jobs.

Following seven months of little overall change in the level online job demand in Germany, April saw a strong five-point rise in online job availability, said Steve Pogorzelski, Group President International, Monster Worldwide. This was enough to raise the overall European Index, despite the decline in online job opportunities in the UK.

Heavy Industries Register Show Strong Gains

The production, manufacturing, maintenance and repair sector rebounded strongly for a second month, following consistent declines since October. Online job opportunities were up sharply in Germany and Netherlands, while only the UK saw decline in hiring.

Transport, post and logistics also rebounded strongly in April following a dip in March. Demand for workers increased in France, Germany and the Netherlands. The construction and extraction sector also saw a rise in hiring.

The only key economic sector to show a slight dip in hiring was the banking, finance and insurance sector, which dipped by one point. This was a result of minor declines in France, Netherlands and the UK, while Germany saw increase in hiring. Year-on-year growth for the sector is 23 points or 19 percent.

We are seeing a second month of positive online hiring for heavy industries as they ramp up towards their busy summer period. The slight fall in the banking sector represents a Europe-wide dip, however, the sector remains high, and is showing 19% year-on-year growth, added Pogorzelski.

Blue-collar Occupations in Higher Demand for Second Month

Plant and machine operators and assemblers was the fastest growing job category in April, for a second consecutive month. Demand was higher in France, Germany and Sweden, while there were declines in the Netherlands and the UK.

Online job opportunities for service, shop and market sales; and elementary workers also increased for a second consecutive month. Service, shop and market sales workers also increased from the previous month.

White-collar occupations such as legislators, senior officials and managers; and professionals saw a slight decline in recruitment. Legislators, senior officials and managers saw fewer opportunities following two months of increase. Job offers were down in the Netherlands and UK. The professionals category saw lower demand as a result of fewer jobs in the UK.

Individual Country Highlights:

Online employment opportunities across France surged in April. The Index increased by 9 points, suggesting a strong start to the second quarter of the year. The Index is showing solid year-on-year growth of 25 points or 20 percent.

The majority of French industry sectors tracked by the Index experienced increased online job availability in April, with the hospitality and tourism sector registering the strongest growth. The production, manufacturing, maintenance and repair sector also saw significant opportunities. In contrast, the sales industry was one of the few sectors to see a decline in offers.

The Index measured increased online opportunities across all occupational categories tracked except one, as demand for blue- and white-collar workers increased. The only category that saw a decline was skilled agricultural and fishery workers.

All French regions tracked registered gains in online job availability last month, with Rh?ne-Alpes seeing the largest increase in online job demand, followed by Ile-de-France.

German Index Shows Strong Growth in April, with Higher Demand for Banking, Finance and Insurance Workers
Online job opportunities across Germany rose five points to a level of 121 in April. The rise came after a seven month period of minor adjustments in the Index, and raises the year-over-year growth to eight percent.

Almost all German industry sectors tracked by the Index saw increases in online recruitment activity during April, while only two sectors fell and one remained flat. The banking, finance and insurance sector saw the highest increase in online postings. In contrast, the only sector that saw fewer opportunities in April was healthcare, social work and personal care.

All occupations saw higher demand in April, with the legislators, senior officials and managers category surging 12 points, after a similar drop in March.

Dutch Index Continues to Rise, as Demand for Transport, Post and Logistics Workers Surges in April

Online job opportunities in the Netherlands rose for a second consecutive month in April, following a dip at the beginning of 2006, according to the Monster Employment Index Netherlands. The Index increased by six points to a peak of 191. Year-on-year the Index is up 43 points, or 29 percent.

Industry sectors showing growth in April include transport, post and logistics; and public defence and community. Following strong demand in March, the banking, finance and insurance; and construction and extraction sectors saw a drop in online job opportunities.

Blue-collar occupations saw the greatest increase in hiring in April, with the strongest growth trends reported for craft-related workers; and service, shop and market sales workers. Meanwhile, white-collar categories such as legislators, senior officials and managers; and technicians and associate professionals saw lower demand.

The Drenthe region rebounded strongly from a decline in March, while Limburg also saw a third consecutive month of growth. Noord-Holland was the only region to see a slight dip in demand.

Swedish Index Shows Strong Year-on-year Growth in Online Job Opportunities

Online job demand across Sweden jumped eight points, to a level of 171 in April, establishing a historical high. The Swedish Index has grown by 24 percent (33 points) in the last six months alone, whilst year-on-year growth stands at 52 points, representing a 44 percent increase.

Almost all industry sectors tracked by the Index exhibited increased online job availability, while online hiring declined in just three of the 19 sectors tracked by the Index. The sales sector registered the highest rate of growth, rising for the third consecutive month with a surge of 25 points.

All occupational categories saw strong growth in online recruitment activity, with mainly blue-collar occupations seeing the most growth.

All Swedish regions monitored saw increased recruitment activity in April, with the strongest growth measured in Ostra Mellansverige.

UK Index Declines in April, as White-collar Workers See Fewer Opportunities

Online recruitment activity declined by nine points in April, reflecting a similar slowdown in hiring from the first quarter of 2006. Despite the drop, the Index still stands at a higher level than the first two months of this year, reaching 141 points in April. Year-on-year growth stands at 26 points or 23 percent.

Most industry sectors saw a decline in hiring throughout April, with the greatest increases seen in healthcare, social work and personal care and environment, architecture and urbanism.

The Index decline was driven partly by less demand for white-collar employees in April. The greatest drop was seen in service, shop and market sales workers as well as professionals and technicians and associate professionals. In contrast, blue-collar occupations increased over the last month.

All regions saw slight-to-moderate decreases in hiring, apart from the South-West which saw a rise in recruitment activity for the third consecutive month.