January 2010 Index Highlights

• Index slips one point lower in January, reflecting continued moderation in U.S. online recruitment activity to start the year
• Year-on-year, the Index is now down 3 percent, the most marginal rate of decline since the beginning of the recession in 2008
• Offerings in education; arts, entertainment and recreation rise, while construction and wholesale trade contract from last month
• Online job demand falls by varying degrees in all of the 28 major metro markets monitored by the Index

Summary Overview

The Monster Employment Index edged down one point in January, while the annual rate of decline moderated to an almost-flat 3 percent, as the Index appears close to emerging from a period of negative annual growth that spans back to January 2008.

“The Monster Employment Index was nearly on par with its year-ago level in January, as last year’s declining trends began to shift towards stabilization in a number of industries,” said Jesse Harriott, senior vice president and chief knowledge officer at Monster Worldwide.““With the economy returning to a stage of positive growth, we’ve seen subtle signs of firming in hiring trends, even for sectors like finance in recent months.”