May 2009 Index Highlights:
• The Monster Employment Index UK fell by 2% in May, offsetting growth seen in April. Overall, the Index is down 40% year-on-year
• Online job opportunities dipped most in the healthcare; marketing; engineering; and R&D sectors while offerings rose in hospitality; and management
• Regionally, demand fell furthest in North England and Scotland. Job availability rose in both East Anglia and Wales
Summary Overview
The Monster Employment Index UK fell by three points or two percent in May, following a slight uptick in online hiring in April. Despite the fall, the past months’ relatively flat Index readings suggest that online recruitment activity has stabilised in the UK after a sharp contraction in 2008. In addition, the Index’s year-on-year rate of decline of 72 points, or 40 percent, has remained largely unchanged over the past three months.
The dip in May was largely driven by a fall in demand for workers in the 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. The overall European Index contracted by 37 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:
May
09 Apr
09 Mar
09 Feb
09 Jan
09 Dec
08 Nov
08 Oct
08 Sep
08 Aug
08 Jul
08 Jun
08 May
08
109 112 110 117 111 141 152 161 159 167 174 177 181
“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,” commented 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.”
Demand for healthcare workers declines, while hospitality & tourism rises
Online job demand in the healthcare, social work sector fell by 54 points, or 16%, in May. This was the steepest decline among all industry sectors and was largely driven by weakened demand for professionals. All regions showed fewer opportunities, with North England seeing the biggest decline. However, healthcare, social work still remains the top growth sector on a year-on-year basis.
Job availability in the marketing, PR and media sector also fell in May, dropping by 16 points, or 13%, to reach its lowest level since August 2005. The sector has recorded the sharpest downturn in demand over the past three months of all industry sectors, as companies across the UK cut back on spending to cope with the economic hardship. Offerings fell furthest in Scotland. Year-on-year decline was 56%.
By contrast, hiring in hospitality and tourism jumped by 15 points, or 12%, due to robust seasonal hiring for service and sales workers in London, the South East and Wales. Although online job availability in the sector is now at a five-month high, the category was down by 19% year-on-year.
Opportunities in production, manufacturing, maintenance and repair saw an 11 point, or 12%, rise in the Index. Hiring in the sector slowed significantly between June 2008 and February 2009 but has since shown signs of re-acceleration. There was also an 11 point upturn in the management and consulting sector in May, led by increased hiring in the Midlands. Year-on-year, however, the sector was still down 49 points, or 21%.
Demand for plant and machine operators, and assemblers; and clerical support workers increases; opportunities for agricultural workers reduce
Online job demand for plant and machine operators, and assemblers surged by seven points, or 14%, indicating demand for factory workers and skilled tradesmen may be stabilising following a plunge in hiring between mid-2008 and February 2009. Despite this growth, the category is down by 54% year-on-year – the second worst hit of all occupational groups.
Job availability for clerical support workers rose by seven points in May, or 8%, to reach a five-month high in the Index. This growth was driven by increased hiring in the administrative and organisation sector; and the public sector.
In contrast, there was a marked reduction in online job opportunities in May for skilled agricultural and fishery workers. Demand for this category fell by 24 points, or 13% - the third straight monthly drop. Despite a 29% decline year-on-year, the category is holding up the best on an annual basis.
North England hit hardest
Online hiring fell by 8% in North England in 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 5% drop.
Online job availability grew most in East Anglia in May. Demand increased by five points, or 5%, 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.
Best Performing Sectors
Industries showing the best performance included:
Month-on-month
Industry May 09 Apr
09 %
Hospitality and tourism 139 124 12%
Production, manufacturing, maintenance, repair 106 95 12%
Management and consulting 187 176 6%
Transport, post and logistics 96 93 3%
Sales 88 86 2%
Year-on-year
Industry May 09 May
08 %
Healthcare, social work 276 168 64%
Education, training and library 283 188 51%
Public sector, defence, community 106 104 2%
Production, manufacturing, maintenance, repair 106 117 -9%
Research and development 133 156 -15%
Best Performing Occupational Groups
Occupational categories showing the best performance included:
Month-on-month
Occupation May 09 Apr
09 %
Plant and machine operators, and assemblers 56 49 14%
Clerical support workers 90 83 8%
Technicians and associate professionals 111 108 3%
Year-on-year
Occupation May 09 May
08 %
Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishing workers 157 220 -29%
Elementary occupations 69 100 -31%
Technicians and associate professionals 111 167 -34%
Monster Employment Index UK findings across industry sectors for the past 13 months are as follows:
Industry May 09 Apr 09 Mar 09 Feb
09 Jan
09 Dec
08 Nov
08 Oct
08 Sep
08 Aug
08 Jul
08 Jun
08 May
08
Accounting, audit, taxes 83 85 84 91 90 108 119 121 123 123 132 145 137
Administrative, organisation 90 88 89 98 87 132 160 178 173 184 182 203 204
Arts, entertainment, sports, leisure 103 108 108 120 113 144 151 178 175 185 180 197 198
Banking, finance, insurance 107 115 116 123 117 148 167 173 158 168 165 162 166
Construction and extraction 74 79 83 81 81 108 114 125 134 156 152 157 167
Education, training and library 283 290 267 253 215 256 224 217 167 185 220 204 188
Engineering 125 136 138 149 143 188 196 202 197 203 205 197 211
Environment, architecture and urbanism 63 68 68 74 74 124 134 146 180 219 196 219 232
Healthcare, social work 276 330 291 305 321 263 314 255 201 226 213 182 168
Hospitality and tourism 139 124 123 129 115 150 159 165 162 178 223 200 172
HR 56 56 59 72 52 74 111 127 131 162 173 193 188
IT 81 80 82 85 82 96 103 108 110 108 116 120 126
Legal 125 130 120 139 127 163 162 183 186 179 176 221 232
Management and consulting 187 176 156 162 135 169 193 196 207 204 219 240 236
Marketing, PR and media 103 119 121 138 128 163 196 204 199 207 208 204 232
Production, manufacturing, maintenance, Repair 106 95 97 86 91 103 108 109 110 111 119 124 117
Public sector, defence, community 106 105 104 104 103 108 112 108 113 105 97 101 104
Research and development 133 146 149 146 130 151 150 146 143 147 152 160 156
Sales 88 86 85 86 82 110 121 133 133 137 147 142 149
Telecommunications 66 71 74 80 80 89 102 92 92 99 96 98 106
Transport, post and logistics 96 93 89 97 94 110 126 136 140 146 160 180 172
Monster Employment Index UK findings across occupational categories for the past 13 months are as follows:
Occupation May 09 Apr 09 Mar 09 Feb
09 Jan
09 Dec
08 Nov
08 Oct
08 Sep
08 Aug
08 Jul
08 Jun
08 May
08
Managers 101 105 103 107 101 130 140 151 145 158 162 157 164
Professionals 107 113 111 122 118 152 169 172 164 173 180 182 191
Technicians and associate professionals 111 108 107 109 110 134 147 153 158 160 162 168 167
Clerical support workers 90 83 84 87 83 105 119 135 135 141 147 165 166
Service and sales workers 80 78 79 86 72 90 105 102 119 126 165 161 139
Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers 157 181 197 214 195 209 205 191 167 196 202 230 220
Craft and related workers 139 140 148 158 133 171 194 204 176 205 246 275 307
Plant and machine operators, and assemblers 56 49 48 44 51 72 82 88 95 107 121 127 122
Elementary occupations 69 69 71 60 60 76 90 98 104 106 124 101 100
Monster Employment Index UK findings across UK regions for the past 13 months are as follows:
Region May 09 Apr 09 Mar 09 Feb
09 Jan
09 Dec
08 Nov
08 Oct
08 Sep
08 Aug
08 Jul
08 Jun
08 May
08
Midlands 103 101 102 110 110 133 154 165 163 162 182 189 186
North England 127 138 133 136 126 155 171 177 179 181 190 194 202
London 96 95 96 100 98 113 124 128 131 135 141 145 146
South East 98 103 104 107 104 120 124 128 126 132 132 133 135
South West 194 198 189 190 176 223 250 276 260 265 273 287 290
Wales 195 192 192 174 179 211 235 257 217 238 237 234 245
Scotland 108 114 100 114 108 133 139 149 149 154 172 167 175
East Anglia 110 105 111 112 101 119 136 148 131 150 155 153 155
Northern Ireland 108 106 93 96 96 143 151 147 185 160 184 164 147
