The Monster Employment Index is a monthly gauge of U.S. online job demand based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large representative selection of corporate career Web sites and job boards, including Monster.com®.

During October, online job availability rose in seven of the Index's 20 industry sectors and in 10 of the 23 occupational categories monitored. Index results for the past 13 months are as follows:

 Oct. 09    Sep. 09    Aug. 09    Jul. 09    Jun. 09    May. 09    Apr. 09    Mar. 09    Feb. 09    Jan. 09    Dec. 08    Nov. 08    Oct. 08 
 120        119        121        114        117        118        120        118        122        118        131        143        150     


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"The rise in the October Index, along with an improvement in the annual rate, indicate a mild expansion in the underlying employer demand for workers," said Jesse Harriott, senior vice president and chief knowledge officer at Monster Worldwide. "While the decline in consumer confidence has likely contributed to reduced job demand in the retail and hospitality sectors, employers are actively recruiting in the healthcare and public sectors, resulting in stability of the overall Index."

Healthcare and Social Assistance Registers Largest Monthly Gain in Online Job Demand in October

Online job demand in the health care and social assistance industry registered the highest rate of increase in October amid strong job posting growth among both practitioners/technical and support occupations. The public administration sector also noted a jump in recruiting activity, while mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction; manufacturing; and utilities experienced modest gains in October.

In contrast, the retail sales industry experienced an uncharacteristic dip for the second consecutive month in October, indicating sluggish seasonal hiring among retailers for this year's holiday period.