Summary Overview

Online recruitment activity reached a seven-month high across Europe, as all regions monitored by the Monster Employment Index Europe reported solid monthly rises in online job opportunities. In addition, over the past three months the Index exhibited a mild one percent uptick, suggesting online worker demand is slowly creeping up. However, the annual rate of contraction remained at the same pace as seen in January 2010, with opportunities down 12 percent compared February 2009, suggesting businesses are waiting for further indicators that the economy is recovering before making significant hires.

Among industries, consumer-driven sectors such as hospitality and tourism and arts, entertainment sports and leisure reported increased job opportunities. Agriculture, fishing and forestry, a relatively small sector, noted the sharpest monthly and annual increase in online job demand.

Monster Employment Index Europe results for the past 13 months are as follows:

“The uptick in online recruitment activity at the beginning of the year speaks to the anticipated degree of business improvement over the near term seen by firms across Europe. However, major economic indicators across Europe, such as the German business climate indicator and UK unemployment data from the ONS, remain deflated, which may impact hiring activity through the remainder of the year,” commented Andrea Bertone, head of Monster Europe. “Comparatively speaking, online recruitment has improved the most in the UK, where opportunities are up from a monthly, quarterly and yearly perspective. These signs could be encouraging for other regions, and may spur increased online hiring across Europe.”

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.