Slight Growth in UK Online Recruitment in June, According to Monster Employment Index

LONDON--(Business Wire)--
June 2009 Index Highlights:

* The Monster Employment Index UK edged up by one percent in June, recovering
slightly from a 2% drop in May. Overall, the Index is down 38 percent
year-on-year
* Online job opportunities expanded in the education, healthcare and telecom
sectors, while offerings fell in construction, leisure and hospitality, and
construction
* Regionally, London saw the biggest upturn in demand. Job availability also
rose marginally in North England, the South West and Northern Ireland

Summary Overview

The Monster Employment Index UK grew by one point (one percent) in June, showing
some recovery from the three point (two percent) dip in May. The recent flatness
in online job availability indicates that demand for workers has stabilised
following last year`s dramatic fall. While the Index has dropped a sizeable 67
points (38 percent) year-on-year, the pace of deterioration has remained largely
steady since February.

This upturn in June was principally caused by increased demand for workers in
the healthcare, social work; telecommunications; and education, training and
library sectors. By contrast, there was reduced demand in the research and
development; arts, entertainment, sports and leisure; hospitality and tourism;
and construction and extraction industries. The overall European Index dipped 2
points in June and contracted by 64 points (39 percent) year-on-year.

The Monster Employment Index Europe is a monthly analysis of millions of online
job opportunities culled from a large, representative selection of corporate
career sites and job boards across the UK, including Monster.co.uk.

Monster Employment Index UK results for the past 13 months are as follows:

Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct Sep Aug Jul Jun
09 09 09 09 09 09 08 08 08 08 08 08 08
110 109 112 110 117 111 141 152 161 159 167 174 177

"While it seems that the worst of the downturn in hiring activity is behind us,
the latest Monster Employment Index reading shows that the UK labour market
remains in a lull, with further rises in unemployment to be expected over the
summer," commented Hugo Sellert, head of economic research, at Monster
Worldwide. "With the economy still in contraction, it could take some time
before companies start adding staff again. However, some areas of the job market
are still flourishing, such as the education and healthcare sectors, where the
need for qualified workers remains strong."

http://about-monster.com/employment/index/17.

Weber Shandwick
Charlie Meredith-Hardy, +44 (0)20 7067 0647
cmeredith-hardy@webershandwick.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009