UK Online Recruitment Shows Seasonal Decline in January

According to the Monster Employment Index

ó Significant Dips in the Banking, Finance, Insurance; and Legal Sectors

ó Online Job Opportunities Decrease in All UK Regions

Online hiring in the UK dropped considerably in January, as the Monster Employment Index dipped by 14 points, following two months of solid growth. The Monster Employment Index UK is a monthly analysis of millions of online job opportunities culled from a large, representative selection of corporate career sites and job boards across Europe, including Monster.co.uk.

The Index fell to a level of 160 points in January, due in part to sizeable decreases in online job availability in the banking, finance, insurance; and legal sectors. The Index also showed a fall in demand for the majority of occupational groups, with the exception of craft and related workers; and skilled agricultural and fishery workers. Overall, the Index is up 39 points, or 32 percent, compared to January 2007.

The fall in online job opportunities in the UK in January was primarily seasonal ñ in fact, a similar trend was seen in January in each of the past three years,î said Julian Acquari, managing director of Monster UK and Ireland. Although there are signs that employers in select industries such as finance and accounting have scaled back on their recruiting following the turmoil in global credit markets, the underlying demand for labour remained strong in the UK job market at the onset of the new year.î

Online Demand in the Banking, Finance, Insurance; and Legal Sectors Dips Sharply in January
A significant decrease in online job availability in the banking, finance, insurance sector was a key factor in the Indexís dip in January. Opportunities for technicians and associate professionals dropped the most, reversing the growth experienced in December. Demand for professionals also slowed. Job hiring in this sector fell in all UK regions, with the biggest dip in the Midlands.

Opportunities in the legal sector were markedly reduced in January, having previously increased for two successive months. Job availability decreased most for professionals. Regionally, Scotland registered the sharpest decline and hiring slowed in London for the second month in a row. Demand increased in Northern Ireland and East Anglia.

In contrast, online recruitment for management and consulting grew in January for the third consecutive month. The main increase was in opportunities for technicians and associate professionals, while there was a decrease in hiring of legislators, senior officials and managers. Regionally, the Midlands showed the highest rate of increase. Year-on-year growth in this sector was 54 percent.

Production, manufacturing, maintenance, repair also increased in January after a dip in December. Online opportunities grew for professionals; technicians and associate professionals; and craft and related workers.

Online Demand for Legislators, Senior Officials and Managers; and Technicians and Associate Professionals Falls in January
Online job availability for legislators, senior officials and managers dropped for the second month in a row in January. The most significant declines were in IT; construction and extraction; and sales. Demand declined in all regions, with North England showing the biggest dip. Hiring fell in East Anglia, the Midlands and the South East for the second consecutive month.

The technicians and associate professionals category fell by 15 points in January following strong growth in December. Online job offerings decreased mainly in administrative, organisation; and banking, insurance and finance. However, there was growth in management and consulting; and production, manufacturing, maintenance, repair. Demand fell in Wales for the second straight month.

Skilled agricultural and fishery workers experienced the most significant increase in January, growing by 27 points following a drop in demand in December. This growth was mainly due to increased opportunities in the South West and Wales. Year-on-year growth in this occupational group was 64 percent.

Demand for craft and related workers also increased following growth in opportunities in production, manufacturing, maintenance, repair. Regionally, the Midlands, North England and the South East registered the highest rates of increase while hiring dipped in London for the second consecutive month.

Online Recruitment Drops in All UK Regions
Online hiring decreased across all regions in the UK in January. The South West experienced the biggest fall, following two months of significant growth. The sharpest decline in the region was in the environment, architecture and urbanism sector; by contrast, demand rose in the IT; and research and development industries. There was also lower demand in January for service workers and shop and market sales workers while job availability grew strongly for skilled agricultural and fishery workers. Despite this dip, year-on-year growth for the South West stands at an unrivalled 102 percent.

North England also declined considerably, despite two months of steady growth. There were major decreases in online demand in the banking, insurance, finance; healthcare, social work; education, training and library; and legal sectors.

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