Monster Employment Index Europe Rises in February, as Online Recruitment Rebounds from January Dip

Monster Employment Index Europe Rises in February, as Online Recruitment Rebounds from January Dip

Monster Employment Index Europe:

— Demand for Workers in Banking, Finance and Insurance Sector Surges, as Production, Manufacturing, Maintenance and Repair Continues to Decline —

— Blue-collar Occupations Register Fewer Opportunities, while Demand for Service Workers Slumps —

The Monster Employment Index Europe rose seven points in February, rebounding from the seasonal dip registered in January. The Index reached a level of 129 as a result of greater demand for workers across France, Sweden and the UK. The rise is in line with the annual trend of a pickup in February, which was reported in both 2005 and 2006. Year-on-year, the Index is up 13 points.

Additional information on the Monster Employment Index Europe is available online at http://euindex.monsterworldwide.com. Visitors can subscribe to receive the European Index report, as well as any or all of the five country-specific Index reports on a monthly basis via email. Individual Index reports are produced for five European countries: France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. These reports also provide a breakdown of trends across occupations and sectors.

Online recruitment in the banking, finance and insurance sector grew significantly in February, following a sharp drop in January, while the production, manufacturing, maintenance and repair sector continued a four-month downward trend.

Five occupational categories saw increased demand in February, four of which were white-collar. Occupations showing reduced demand were predominantly blue-collar and included service, shop and market sales workers, for whom demand plunged 30 points to its lowest level since January 2005.

Launched in June 2005 with data collected since December 2004, the Monster Employment Index Europe is compiled by Monster Worldwide. The Index was established to provide European labour market watchers with a valuable monthly snapshot of online recruitment activity based on the research of millions of employer postings from more than 1,400 Web sites. In addition to providing an analysis of overall European online job demand, the Index shows changes in online opportunities within industry sectors and occupational groups.
Contacts

Weber Shandwick, London for Monster Worldwide Europe
Robin Clark, +44 (0)20-7067-0500
RClark {at} WeberShandwick(.)com