The Monster Employment Index rose moderately in February, adding four points, as a majority of industries, occupations, and regions registered increased online job availability. During February, online job availability rose in 17 of the Index’s 20 industry categories and in 18 of the 23 occupational categories measured. However, on a year-over-year basis, the Index remained down 26%, the same annual pace observed in January.

“The gain in the February Index is the first since October of 2008, but is a typical pattern seen historically as we move from January to February and companies start their recruiting efforts in earnest. Most industries and occupations showed an increase in online recruitment activity in February as did the majority of geographical regions and major metropolitan markets. All of this suggests that traditional annual hiring cycles remain somewhat intact,” said Jesse Harriott, senior vice president and chief knowledge officer at Monster Worldwide. “The annual growth rate for the Index is still negative year-over-year, suggesting that labor market conditions remain well below the hiring demand of 2007 and early 2008.”

Professional, scientific and technical services registered a rise in worker demand due to seasonal demand for accountants and related professionals. Manufacturing also saw a rise in February suggesting that employers may have initiated a hiring cycle in advance of busier production in the spring.

On a year-over-year basis, Military Specific experienced the fastest acceleration in annual growth pace among occupations, reflecting upward momentum in online recruitment and associated demand for defense-related workers.

Geographically, the east south central region saw a sharp rise in February among all the Census Bureau regions, reversing an 8-month downtrend. The Pacific Region remained flat in February, with hiring conditions generally unchanged in the California market. On an annual basis, the Northeast became the steepest contracting area, down by almost 35% on the year. This was primarily due to the modest hiring trends in the New England region. In contrast, the Mountain region had the most improved annual growth rate in the Index amongst the various regions mainly due to favorable online demand for workers in Nevada, Idaho and New Mexico.

Online job availability rose in 25 of the 28 metro markets led by Pittsburgh and Houston. Pittsburgh registered the largest monthly rise, bolstered by substantially increased demand for business and financial operations professionals and blue-collar workers. Houston saw increased demand for management workers, healthcare support and practitioners/technical professionals. Seattle and Portland registered small gains.

By: DocMemory
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