EconoIndicators

Monster Employment Index At a Glance

• October Index: 188
• Monthly Change: Up 2
• Year-to-year Change: Up 16 Points
• Regions Growing: 7
• Regions Unchanged: 2
• Regions Declining: 0

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Monster Employment Index Edges Up Two Points in
October, Fueled by Increased White-collar Online
Recruitment Activity

Expanded Monthly Scope of Findings
Now Includes Data for Top 28 U.S. Metro Markets

October 2007 Index Highlights:
• Index climbs to highest level since May, demonstrating greater overall online
job availability at the outset of the fourth quarter
• Year-over-year growth rate rises moderately to nine percent – a slight
improvement from August and September
• Expanded online opportunities for management; and business and financial
operations; suggest a reassuring corporate hiring outlook
• Demand within construction and real estate industries declines further,
reflecting continued hardship in the building and housing sectors
• New England reports largest rise among regions, while Cincinnati, Kansas City
and Cleveland register the highest rate of increase on the month among the
top 28 metro markets

Summary Overview
The Monster Employment Index edged up two points in October, demonstrating
greater online job availability across the country driven largely by stepped-up
recruitment for white-collar and military occupations. The Monster Employment Index
is based on a real-time review of employer job opportunities culled from a large,
representative selection of corporate career sites and job boards, including Monster®.

In an effort to present a single, comprehensive snapshot of U.S. national and local online
recruitment trends, the Monster Employment Index has been expanded to include data
for the top 28 U.S. metro markets previously issued each month as the Monster Local
Employment Index. Because the local Index used a more compressed scale when it
launched in June 2005, its current and historical data has been revised and rescaled using
the same methodology as the national Index to ensure consistency and accuracy.

During October, 12 of 20 industries and 10 of 23 occupational categories tracked by the
Index registered increased online job availability. Index results for the past 13 months
are as follows:

OCT 07 SEP 07 AUG 07 JUL 07 JUN 07 MAY 07 APR 07 MAR 07 FEB 07 JAN 07 DEC 06 NOV 06 OCT 06
188 186 186 183 186 189 186 185 177 168 167 175 172

“The Monster Employment Index’s rise in October is an encouraging sign of continued
stability in nationwide employer demand for workers, despite a moderating U.S.
economy and the turmoil caused by the housing and credit markets,” said Steve
Pogorzelski, Executive Vice President, Global Sales and Customer Development at
Monster Worldwide. “With the unemployment rate still hovering below five percent,
the labor market remains historically tight with shortages of highly skilled workers
driving much of the current online recruiting efforts.”

Industries Registering Strong Increases in October Include Public
Administration; Utilities; and Management of Companies and Enterprises

Among industries, the public administration category registered the sharpest rate of
increase in online job availability during October, jumping 29 points, or 19 percent – the
category’s largest jump since the inception of the Index. The rise was primarily due to
expanded online opportunities within the federal government. Online job demand in
the utilities industry also jumped, gaining 14 points amid stronger seasonal demand from
utilities likely looking to expand their staffing in advance of the colder winter season.
Opportunities in the management of companies and enterprises category rose as well,
edging up six points, indicating no significant impact on corporate hiring as of yet, due to
recent turmoil in the financial market.

In contrast, online demand for transportation and warehousing posted the largest
decline, falling eight points on the month. Demand for workers in the education
services industry dipped, reflecting a more moderate level of recruitment activity after the sharp increase experienced ahead of the fall semester. Arts, entertainment and
recreation also showed a decrease, leaving the category mostly flat from a year ago and
indicating softer hiring in the industry. Construction; and real estate and rental and
leasing – two categories with close ties to the slumping housing sector – also declined in
October.

Military Specific; Life, Physical and Social Science; and Management Register
Sharpest Monthly Increases among Occupations

In October, the military specific category registered the strongest rate of increase in
online job availability among occupations tracked. The sizeable jump was comparable to
increases seen each October since the Index’s inception, and suggests intensified online
recruitment activity by the U.S. Armed Services that is typical for this time of the year.
Despite the increase last month, online job availability for military specific occupations
remains lower than a year ago.

Online job availability also rose moderately for major white-collar occupations such as
management; business and financial operations; architecture and engineering; and life,
physical, and social sciences. Architecture and engineering, up four points, grew at the
highest annualized rate in more than a year. Demand for these occupations surged
through the first quarter of 2006 at the height of the residential construction boom, but
then plunged dramatically as the housing market entered a downturn.

In contrast, online opportunities for occupations in education, training and library – as
well as community and social services – eased in October, as school, colleges and non-
profit organizations wound down their fall semester hiring. Several blue-collar
categories also reported fewer opportunities last month, including construction and
extraction; installation, maintenance and repair; and transportation and material moving,
indicating generally softer overall demand for blue-collar workers. In fact, each of these
categories is now flat or down on a year-over-year basis. Healthcare support remains
the Index’s top growth occupation on a year-over-year basis, with healthcare
practitioners and technical following closely behind.

Seven of Nine U.S. Census Bureau Regions Show Increased Online Job
Availability in October

Seven of the nine U.S. Census Bureau regions tracked by the Index saw online job
availability expand in October, with New England registering the highest rate of increase
on the month, driven by strong increases in Vermont and Rhode Island and continued
growth in Massachusetts. On a year-over-year basis, the West South Central remains
the Index’s top growth region, while the Mountain and Pacific regions remain the
slowest growing.

Among the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, 37 states edged higher in
October. New Mexico is now the Index’s top growth state on a year-over-year basis.

Monster Employment Index October 2007 [PDF]

Source: Monster.com [Popup window]