Online recruitment activity in the UK eased slightly in March as the Monster Employment Index dropped by 5 points, following record growth in February.

The Monster Employment Index UK 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.co.uk.

The Index fell to a level of 187 points in March, partly due to a significant drop in online job availability in the HR sector. The Index also showed a notable decrease in demand for craft and related workers. Overall, the Index is up 37 points, or 25 percent, compared to March 2007.

"Despite the slight dip in March, the first quarter of 2008 brought strong growth in online job demand,” said Hugo Sellert, Head of Economic Research, Monster Worldwide. "The labour market remains tight as employers continue to try and fill vacancies. The financial sector shows fewer opportunities than last year amid continued turmoil in the banking sector, but prospects for growth across most other UK industries still appear favourable.”