European Online Recruitment Increases 26% Year-over-Year

European Online Recruitment Increases 26% Year-over-Year; Most Rapid Pace During Current Cycle, Reports Monster Employment Index

March 2011 Index Highlights:

The Monster Employment Index Europe records 26% year-over-year growth, the most rapid pace seen during the current economic cycle

Industrial production related sectors lead the Index in annual growth in March with a 64% rise in production, manufacturing, maintenance and repair

Financial services sector notes positive recruitment trends in March, growing five percent on an annual basis

Arts, entertainment, sports, leisure continues to decline and remains the only sector to chart a substantial year-over-year decline 

Germany continues to lead all countries in annual growth, at 45%

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 Europe, including Monster. 

“Manufacturing and exports remain a key driver of recruitment across the continent, highlighted through strong growth within industry-related sectors in this month’s Index,” commented Alan Townsend, Vice President of Business Operations at Monster Europe. “In contrast, it is still very apparent that household and government spending trends are continuing to weigh on recruitment activity across the arts and public sector industries, while business and professional services mainly trend higher.”

Industry Year-over-year Trends: 22 of the 24 industry sectors monitored by the Index between February and March showed positive annual growth trends.

Production, manufacturing, maintenance, repair (up 64%) continued to lead all sectors in the Index, with upward trends in recruitment for this sector most apparent in Germany as well as Italy and Netherlands

Accounting, audit, taxes (up 14%), one of the more moderate trending sectors during the economic recovery, registered a substantial rise in online recruitment levels in March

Banking, finance, insurance (up five percent) exhibited some gains in online demand, contrasting with its one percent increase in February, reflecting positive sector recruitment developments across a number of countries, including Belgium, France, Italy, and Netherlands

Engineering (up 42%) charted further rise in annual growth, reflecting an increasingly competitive hiring climate for technically advanced professionals as industrial production and design activity across Europe continued to grow

Arts, entertainment, sports, leisure (down 20%) was the only sector to register an annual decline in the Index; combined with slowed annual growth for Sales (up seven percent), suggesting household discretionary spend remains limited

Top Growth Industries

Lowest Growth Industries

Occupation Year-over-year Trends: All nine occupational groups monitored by the Index registered positive growth.

Plant and machine operators and assemblers (up 61%) led all occupational groups in annual growth in March, aligned with trends seen in the Production, manufacturing, maintenance, repair sector, the group’s largest employer.

Elementary occupations (up 47%) registered a steep acceleration in annual growth rate, indicating an upswing in underlying drivers for entry-level and lower-skilled job openings across the region

Service and sales workers (up 34%) continued to exhibit over 30% annual growth despite moderating growth trends in the retail segment

Top Growth Occupations

Lowest Growth Occupations

Country Highlights:

Belgium: Belgium recorded a positive annual growth rate of 18%. Public sector, defence and community exhibited further gains on the month while Banking, finance, insurance charted the most substantial upward swing in annual growth compared to February rates. The Flemish region continued to lead all regions in terms of annual growth.

France: The Monster Employment Index France year-over-year accelerated to 21%, from 19% in February. Research and development was the top performing industry sector in terms of annual growth while recovery in the financial sector was strong. Regionally Ile de France noted the strongest annual climb; opportunities were up 30%.

Germany: Germany remained among the top trending European countries by measure of annual growth, at 45%. Transport, post and logistics noted the sharpest annual increase; opportunities were up 115 percent. Baden-Württemberg also grew 66% year-over-year and reported its highest March level since 2008.

Italy: Italy recorded continued positive year-over-year growth in online recruitment activity, registering annual gains of 15% in March. Marketing, PR and media registered the greatest rise across industry sectors in online job demand, with an increase of 55% year-over-year, while government-funded industry sectors such as education, healthcare, public sector and urbanism remained sluggish compared to activity observed a year ago.

Netherlands: The Monster Employment Index Netherlands exhibited accelerated annual growth in March, with year-over-year gains of eight percent. Transport, post and logistics led all industries with annual growth at 43%. Improved recruitment trends across Banking, finance, insurance, and Accounting, audit, taxes also suggested some improvement in hiring and job creation rates for the overall financial service segment.

Sweden: Sweden recorded an annual growth rate of 22% in March. Banking, finance, insurance was a key growth driver in the March Index and maintained relatively robust annual gain. Engineering and IT continued to exhibit the most rapid rates of annual growth in the Index while Hospitality and tourism momentum dissipated, with annual growth going flat in March.

UK: Online job opportunities in the UK remained positive as March saw an increase of nine percent year-over-year. The demand for skilled craft and tradesmen grew by 24% year-over-year and four per cent on the month. Technical sectors were the strongest performers in online recruitment; engineering’s annual growth rate accelerated, while IT and Research and development maintained robust gains. Banking and the Public sector also saw the biggest decline in opportunities in March, declining seven and six percent respectively on the year.

International Trends:

Monster Employment Index US annual growth rate accelerated to nine percent in March, marking fourteenth month of consecutive year-over-year growth. Mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction, and utilities continue to lead the Index on an annual basis with an increase of 68 percent and 35 percent respectively, while all US metro markets monitored by the Index continued to record positive year-over-year growth.

Monster Employment Index India continued to record double-digit annual growth rate at 16 percent in March, with year-over-year trends remaining positive for the sixth consecutive month. Strong demand was recorded in the Petroleum, Oil and Gas industry while Mumbai recorded strongest growth amidst the large metro markets.

To obtain a full copy of the Monster Employment Index report for March 2011, and to access current individual data charts for each of the seven European markets tracked, please visit http://about-monster.com/employment/index/17. Data for the month of April 2011 will be released on May 10, 2011.

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