Online Recruitment Grows Sharply in the UK in November according to Monster Employment Index

— Significant Increase in Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Leisure Sector Opportunities —

— Strong Growth in the South West and North England —

London, December 11, 2007 – Online recruitment grew sharply in the UK in November, bouncing back from two consecutive monthly dips, as the Monster Employment Index rose by nine points. The Index increased to a level of 169 points, due mainly to strong increases in online demand in the arts, entertainment, sports, leisure; and education, training and library sectors. There were also significant increases in online recruiting for craft and related workers; skilled agricultural and fishery workers; and plant and machine operators and assemblers. Overall, the Index is up by 41 points, or 32 per cent, compared to last November. 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.

“It is highly encouraging that the UK online job market showed such strong signs of recovery in November, following two successive monthly dips,” said Andrea Bertone, Regional Director, Monster Worldwide Europe. “UK unemployment is now at its lowest level for more than two and a half years and employers are increasingly placing job advertisements online to attract the most talented candidates.”

Monster Employment Index UK results over the past 14 months are as follows:

Nov
07   Oct 07   Sept 07   Aug 07   Jul 07   Jun 07   May 07   Apr 07   Mar 07   Feb 07   Jan 07   Dec 06   Nov 06   Oct 06
169   160   162   167   165   170   162   141   150   140   121   129   128   127

Sharp Increase in Arts, Entertainment, Sports and Leisure Sector

A significant rise in hiring in the arts, entertainment, sports and leisure sector was a key contributor to the increase in the November Monster Employment Index, led mainly by a rise in job availability for clerks. This sector recovered from a notable decrease in October, with the largest increase noted in Scotland.

“Growth in the arts, entertainment, sports and leisure sector was due in part to increased seasonal hiring in the build up to the Christmas period. However, the vast majority of industry sectors across the UK saw a rise in online recruitment as the Index rebounded strongly from the recent slowing in the labour market,” added Bertone.
 
Education, training and library experienced strong growth for the third month in a row, mainly due to increased job opportunities for professionals. London showed the biggest growth in this sector in November.

In contrast, banking, finance and insurance experienced a significant dip, decreasing by 20 Index points after being the highest growing sector in October. Job availability for technicians and associate professionals; and professionals within this industry dropped considerably. Opportunities declined across all regions, with the biggest dips in Northern Ireland and the Midlands.

Demand for Craft and Related Workers and Skilled Agricultural and Fishery Workers Rises Sharply

Online opportunities for craft and related workers rose sharply by 37 Index points in November, reversing a two month decline. The most significant increases were in construction and extraction; and production, manufacturing, maintenance, repair. The South East saw the highest growth in this occupational group, with a notable rise also recorded in London.

Skilled agricultural and fishery workers also rose by 37 Index points in November as a result of an increase in opportunities in agriculture, fishing and forestry. Online hiring increased most significantly in the South West and Wales.

For the third month in a row, there was an upturn in demand for plant and machine operators and assemblers. Growth was driven by high demand in construction and extraction; production, manufacturing, maintenance, repair; and transport, post and logistics.

Technicians and associate professionals was the only occupational category in the UK to report a decline in the UK Index. This was caused by a drop in demand in the administrative, organisation; and banking, finance, insurance sectors. However, opportunities for this occupational group increased within arts, entertainment, sports, leisure.

Growth in Online Recruitment Led by the South West and North England

The majority of UK regions recorded growth in online recruitment in November. The South West experienced the highest increase, led principally by an increase in agriculture, fishing and forestry. As a result of growth in this sector, there were more job opportunities for skilled agricultural and fishery workers. Demand for plant and machine operators and assemblers also grew, but hiring of technicians and associate professionals dipped for the sixth straight month.

North England experienced a notable increase, largely due to increases in the legal; and education, training, library sectors. There was strong demand for skilled agricultural and fishery workers. Online hiring in London also rose due to strong demand in arts, entertainment, sports, leisure; and public sector, defence, community.

Scotland was the region that declined most, with notable dips in online job availability in HR; and marketing, PR and media. However, demand for agriculture, fishery and forestry rose following three months of decline and there were increases in demand for skilled agricultural and fishery workers; and service workers and shop and market sales workers.

Monster Employment Index UK data for December will be released on January 8, 2008.