Monster U.S. Online Jobs Index Rises in May

A gauge of U.S. online recruitment activity rose for a fifth straight month in May as demand for workers eased slightly but remained strong, a global online careers and recruiting firm, said on Thursday.

The Monster Employment Index rose to 189 points in May from 186 in March and 167 a year ago.

The index showed a year-over-year growth of 13%, slower than the 14% in April, it said.

"Despite registering a more moderate annual rate of increase compared to the same period last year, the Monster Employment Index has shown stepwise growth in online job availability since the beginning of the year, and also points to a relatively stable U.S. labor market at the mid-point of second quarter," said Steve Pogorzelski, Group President, International at Monster Worldwide .

Fewer industries and job categories showed greater online demand for workers in May compared with April.

Overall, 13 of 20 industries tracked by Monster and 7 of 23 occupational categories tracked by Monster posted increases in online recruitment this month, compared with 16 industries and 19 job categories registering increases in April.

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting category showed the highest rate of increase in online job availabilities in May ahead of the busy summer season for those industries, Monster said.

Online recruitment by the healthcare industry was also strong in May, Pogorzelski said.

In contrast, online hiring in the manufacturing sector remained weak this month, while online demand for high-skilled services workers such as managers and engineers moderated.

On a regional basis, online job demand rose in six of the nine U.S. regions in May, Monster said.

The Monster Employment index is a monthly analysis based on a review of more than 1,500 career sites, job boards and other Web sites. The margin of error is plus or minus 1%.