There may be hope, but we’re not out of the woods yet, seems to be the message from the online recruitment index. Although there was a small rise of six percent in February after three months of contraction, the index still fell by 39 percent year-on-year, which is the most dramatic fall on record and makes a fourth consecutive month in which this has happened. The biggest rises in employment were found in education, management and consultancy.

“The UK online recruitment market expanded for the first time in four months, lifted by seasonal hiring in a number of sectors. The longer-term recruitment trends remain down, however, as the shaky economy and uncertain outlook for 2009 continue to prompt businesses to exercise caution when it comes to new payroll commitments,” commented Hugo Sellert, head of economic research at Monster Worldwide.

There was good news for those looking for employment in HR: Opportunities in the HR sector were reported to have increased notably in February, reversing a seven month downturn.

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