- The UK Monster Employment Index fell by nine points (eight percent) in January as the online recruitment activity recorded a seasonal slowdown
- Arts, entertainment, sports and leisure led all sectors in monthly growth, with administrative, organisation also reporting a positive uptrend. Hospitality and tourism registered the largest decline, falling 10 points (seven percent)
- Wales, Scotland and London saw the best improvement on a year-on-year basis, with the south east seeing the greatest decline
The nine point (eight percent) January decline in the Monster Employment Index is widely attributed to seasonal factors that inform hiring and related online recruitment activity at the start of each year. Comparatively, the overall EU Index fell by seven points (seven percent) in January.
The UK Index matched its January 2009 level, exiting from a state of annual decline that extends back to November 2008. In contrast, the overall EU Index was down by 12 percent year-on-year. The long-term growth in administrative and organisation sector and HR signalled an upswing in demand trends for office support services, lending further evidence that business activity is reviving.
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 European Union, including Monster.co.uk.
“Despite a seasonal fall during January, the long term annual growth rate of the Index continues to improve,” commented Julian Acquari, Managing Director at Monster UK and Ireland. “There was encouraging growth for business support functions such as administration, organisation and HR, which point to more confidence in taking on workers to plan for growth. Whilst business conditions are likely to remain challenging for some time, it is encouraging to see some stabilization in long-term hiring trends.”
