Online Recruitment Index falls: management and consulting work up

Online recruitment down 40 percent year-on-year and down after small
rise in April – falls in PR, marketing and media jobs as well as
engineering and R&D work blamed.

The two percent fall in online recruitment offset the rise reported
April and means the Monster Employment Index has fallen by 40 percent
overall year-on-year. It seems, however, that online recruitment has
stabilised after the 2008 contraction.

“The latest reading from the Monster Employment Index shows that UK
online recruitment activity has levelled off so far in 2009, but
employer demand for workers still falls way short of recent years’
levels,” explained Hugo Sellert, head of economic research, at Monster
Worldwide. “Most indicators suggest that the UK economy remains stuck
in a deep recession. However, a recent pick-up in demand for production
workers suggests that jobs prospects in the battered manufacturing
sector may be improving somewhat.”

The dip was caused by a fall for demand in several sectors including
healthcare, social work, marketing, PR, media, engineering and research
and development sectors. By contrast, there was an upturn in advertised
opportunities in the hospitality and tourism; and management and
consulting sectors.

Geographically, online hiring fell by eight percent in north England
during May. This was the biggest regional downturn, principally caused
by reduced demand in engineering, R&D and telecommunications. There
were also steep declines in Scotland and the South East with both
regions registering a five percent drop.

Online job availability grew most in East Anglia in May. Demand
increased by five percent, fully offsetting the dip seen in April. This
growth was largely due to increased hiring for administrative and
organisation workers. Job offerings also edged higher in the Midlands,
Northern Ireland and Wales. Year-on-year, Wales has seen the most
resilience to the overall slowdown among the major regions while the
Midlands continues to show the steepest annual decline.