Monster Employment Index Shows Rise in Online Job Demand in September

Demand for workers and related online job recruitment activity across the United States rose in September, as the Monster Employment Index reached its highest level since its inception. Following a sharp increase in August, the Index continued to climb upward in September, showing broad growth in online job availability across the United States. Overall, the Index rose to 151 in September from 145 in August. Results for the first nine months of 2004 are as follows:

151 - Sep
145 - Aug
134 - Jul
136 - Jun
128 - May
125 - Apr
109 - Mar
107 - Feb
102 - Jan


During the month of September, more than one-third of the 20 industries tracked by the Index showed increases in online job demand. Six industries decreased slightly during the month, while others saw more significant declines. Industries that saw online job availability increase in September included finance & insurance; retail trade; mining; educational services; and arts, entertainment & recreation. Finance & insurance registered its eighth consecutive month of growth, joining arts, entertainment & recreation and mining in reaching their highest levels since the inception of the Index in October 2003.

Industries registering slight declines in September, but maintaining their second-highest levels for the year, included transportation & warehousing; information; manufacturing; wholesale trade; professional, scientific & technical services; and accommodation & food services. Construction and healthcare & social assistance also declined but maintained their third-highest levels since inception of the Index. More significant declines occurred in public administration; utilities; and agriculture, forestry, fishing & hunting.

Online demand for workers grew across most occupational categories in September, with 17 of 23 categories registering increases over the previous month. Occupations showing the most significant increases in September included business & financial operations; management; computer & mathematical; office & administrative support; production; community & social services; and installation, maintenance & repair.

The computer & mathematical occupations category, which captures the greatest number of IT-related positions, continued an upward trend and reached its highest level. Business & financial operations registered its ninth consecutive month of growth, while production continued an eight-month growth trend. Demand for sales occupations increased for the third consecutive month, continuing a generally upward trend throughout 2004. Installation, maintenance & repair and transportation & material moving also registered sharp increases during the month.

At the same time, the education & training occupations category registered a sharp decrease in online demand during the month, while the legal occupations category dipped a few points.

The Monster Employment Index continues to demonstrate solid upward momentum for the year, providing further evidence of sustained improvements in the overall U.S. employment picture, said Jeff Taylor, Founder and Chief Monster. September marks the second consecutive month that all nine U.S. regions registered increases in online job demand, a promising sign that job recovery is beginning to take root across the entire country.

Most industries either increased or maintained their second-highest levels, and once again we saw continued growth in online job demand for sales positions, which is usually indicative of companies seeking to expand. People who are out there looking for a job or seeking further signs of an improving labor market should generally be encouraged by these findings, continued Taylor.

Online Job Demand Increases across the U.S. in September

Online job demand for workers increased in all nine U.S. Census Bureau regions in September, with every region achieving its highest level since October 2003. For the second consecutive month, the Mountain region, which includes Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, saw the greatest increase in job availability, driven by Colorado, Utah and Arizona. The West South Central region (Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana) registered the second largest increase while the West North Central region (Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, and the Dakotas) recorded its ninth consecutive month of growth. The East South Central and South Atlantic regions registered the smallest increases.

41 of the 50 U.S. states showed an increase in online job demand in September, with Rhode Island and Colorado registering the biggest gains and achieving their highest levels since the Index’s inception. Nine states declined during the month with Vermont, Alaska and New Hampshire experiencing the sharpest declines. Despite an active hurricane season, Florida still saw a slight increase for the month and made the Index’s monthly top ten states list (see below) for overall job availability. The tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut also continued a steady upward trend of growth for the year.

Based on online job demand in relation to total working population, the Monster Employment Index found the following states to be the top ten in terms of online job availability during the month of September:

1. Arizona

2. District of Columbia

3. Maryland

4. Delaware

5. Virginia

6. California

7. Connecticut

8. Massachusetts

9. New Jersey

10. Florida

California continued to offer the most online job availability of any state during the month of September based on sheer quantity alone.

Top Five Industries Looking for Employees in September

During September, the Monster Employment Index showed an increase in online job demand across roughly one-third of U.S. industries, with healthcare continuing to offer the greatest volume of online job availability compared to all other sectors.

The Monster Employment Index is a broad and comprehensive monthly analysis of U.S. online job demand based on data from more than 1,500 Web sites conducted by Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNST), the parent company of the leading global online careers property, Monster(R). 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. The Monster Employment Index reports results monthly.

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, including all charts and tables, is available online at http://eIndex.monsterworldwide.com. The month of September 2004 marks the twelfth month of data compiled by the Index to date. Data for the month of October will be released on November 4, 2004.