Online Recruitment Activity Rises in 12 of Top 28 U.S. Metro Markets in May

According to the latest findings of the Monster Local Employment Index, online job availability increased in 12 of the 28 top U.S. metropolitan areas during May, reflecting continued, but slightly more moderate growth in online recruitment activity and related job opportunities across major U.S. metro areas.

With a year of data collected, and in keeping with best research practices, Monster Worldwide has officially re-scaled the Monster Local Employment Index using the first twelve months of data (from May 2005 to April 2006) as a new baseline. The re-scaled monthly historical numbers continue to accurately reflect the up and down movements over the past year, and will serve as the Index’s basis of measurement moving forward.

During the past month, three metropolitan markets showed especially strong growth in online recruitment activity, while 9 saw a slight-to-moderate rise, 12 remained unchanged, and only four declined. The Index rose four points in Cincinnati, Phoenix and Portland during May, after each saw solid increases of four, three and four points, respectively in April. Boston, Houston, Kansas City and Seattle each added two points last month, while Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Minneapolis and San Diego all edged up one point. Meanwhile, online job availability in Baltimore and Cleveland decreased by one point, and fell three points in Indianapolis and Sacramento.

The May findings of the Monster Local Employment Index show continued strength in online recruitment activity across the majority of top U.S. metro areas, with encouraging demand for workers in key industries such as healthcare, sales and production, said Steve Pogorzelski, Group President, International at Monster Worldwide. While 12 markets showed little to no movement in May, most markets remained at their highest levels to date, holding steady at elevated positions after the strong gains registered during the first four months of the year. Overall, the findings provide further evidence that employers in the nation’s biggest cities continue to actively hire new workers.

During May, online recruitment activity for healthcare support occupations rose in 22 of the top 28 metro areas, with the largest rate of month-to-month increase registered in Chicago, Cincinnati, Phoenix and San Francisco. All but three markets show an increase year-over-year, with Phoenix and Minneapolis topping the list of fastest growing job markets for healthcare support workers. Workers in this occupational category will likely continue to see strong demand due to persistent skill shortages for many positions, including registered nurses, respiratory therapists and occupational therapists.

Online recruitment activity for arts, design, entertainment, sports and media occupations edged higher in 19 markets last month, an upward shift reflecting strong demand for marketing, advertising and other creative positions in these areas. Cincinnati registered the largest rate of increase in May for the category, as well as the largest increase since May 2005. Denver, Houston, Orlando and Detroit have also demonstrated notable year-over-year growth. With the exception of Tampa, all markets have shown increased demand for occupations in this category over the previous 12-month period.

Seventeen of 28 markets registered greater online job availability for sales and related occupations in May, potentially due to particularly strong sales in May in both high-end and mainstream department stores. All 28 markets demonstrated growth over the year with Phoenix and Cincinnati topping the list of fastest growing job markets for sales workers. In contrast, Chicago, New York and San Francisco showed the slowest rate of growth year-over-year.

Online recruitment activity for production occupations rose in 17 markets during the month while five declined and six were flat. Manufacturing industries showing increased online demand for production workers include chemicals, food, paper, furniture, and apparel. Boston, Houston, Kansas City and Sacramento registered the largest rate of increase over the month, and all but five markets have shown year-over-year growth, with Houston, Denver and Seattle topping the list of fastest growing job markets for production workers.