Online Recruitment Activity Declines in 24 of Top 28 US Metro Markets in June

June 2006 Monster Local Employment Index Highlights:

* Online job opportunities ease slightly in 21 markets, with only Denver, Sacramento and Cincinnati showing sharply lower overall demand for workers

* Minneapolis and St. Louis register continued growth, while Atlanta and Baltimore remain unchanged from elevated recruitment levels in May

* Recruitment for business and financial occupations continues to be strong, climbing or holding steady in 27 markets

* Demand for sales and related occupations dips in 27 markets, reflecting broad slowdown in retail hiring activity

According to the latest findings of the Monster Local Employment Index, online job availability declined in 24 of the 28 top U.S. metropolitan areas during June, suggesting a slight easing in online recruitment activity across major U.S. metro areas at the start of the third quarter.

Overall online demand for workers dipped slightly in most of the markets tracked, with 21 metro areas shedding one to two points. Denver, Sacramento and Cincinnati registered more significant drops of three to four points. In contrast, Minneapolis and St. Louis both edged up a point in June, and online job availability in Atlanta and Baltimore held steady at elevated levels registered in May.

During the second quarter, Portland and Sacramento saw the highest and lowest rates of growth, respectively, while Washington, D.C. remained the bottom performer on a year-over-year basis, having gained just one point over the last 12 months.

Online job availability for sales and related occupations declined in 27 markets, as sales in the retail sector continued to show weakness and major retailers appeared to slow their hiring efforts in keeping with the typical seasonal summer slowdown seen at this time of year. Cincinnati saw the sharpest decline in the sales category, plunging 10 points and only St. Louis showed an increase during the month. Overall, Los Angeles saw the weakest demand for sales workers over the last 12 months while Pittsburgh registered the biggest dip over the second quarter.

Online opportunities for food preparation and serving workers also dipped in a majority of markets, with 15 markets registering declines of varying degrees and three remaining flat. The fairly broad downturn in the category suggests that major metro restaurants and franchises have, for the most part, concluded much of their recruitment activities for the summer travel season. Demand for workers in architecture and engineering also was down broadly in June, declining in 25 markets, with Cincinnati, Dallas and Denver seeing the sharpest drop-offs, while only Indianapolis edged higher.

The June findings of the Monster Local Employment Index suggest a mild slowdown in major metro market recruitment activity last month as consumer spending was further tempered by higher gasoline prices and rising interest rates, and broader business expansion activities slowed with the start of the summer vacation season, said Steve Pogorzelski, Group President, International at Monster Worldwide. Employers in the retail sector, in particular, appear to have started taking a slightly more conservative approach to hiring, contributing to lower overall demand for sales workers in a majority of the nation’s largest cities.

Demand for Accounting and Finance Workers Remains Strong in Majority of Markets

Despite the decline in hiring activity across most markets, several occupational categories continued to show robust growth in June. Online opportunities for workers in business and financial operations occupations rose or held steady in 27 of the top 28 markets in June, with particularly strong trends in Chicago, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Kansas City and St. Louis. Atlanta, Indianapolis and Kansas City shared the sharpest rate of growth for the month, while Portland extended a strong three-month growth trend and Phoenix remained the top market in year over year growth.

The Index also showed a sustained or greater number of online opportunities in community and social services occupations in 19 markets, with Sacramento, Cincinnati and Orlando showing strong three-month growth trends.