Monster jobs index ticks up in Sept, remains weak

NEW YORK, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Online job availability improved slightly in September, but remained considerably weaker compared to last year, Monster Worldwide, Inc MNST.O said on Thursday.

The online job advertising firm's index of labor market conditions ticked up one point to 160 last month. It was down 26 points, or 14 percent, from the same month last year.

The U.S. economy has lost over 600,000 jobs this year. Many analysts expect things will get worse before they get better as the full effect of a year-long credit crisis are felt nationwide.

In a show of private sector weakness, the Monster report found the biggest growth was in local government and defense employment.

Goldman Sachs on Wednesday predicted unemployment would peak above 7 percent. It stood at 6.1 percent in August.

The Labor Department will release its tally of jobs data for September on Friday. Economists expect a decline of 100,000 jobs from U.S. payrolls. (Reporting by Pedro Nicolaci da Costa; editing by Gary Crosse)