The number of HR vacancies has continued to plummet for the seventh month in a row, new figures have revealed.
The Monster Employment Index for January 2009 found the number of HR jobs advertised dropped to an index of 52, down from 74 points in December 2008 and 193 in January 2008.
However, recruitment across the board is at its lowest since May 2006, and the drop-off in HR jobs is not as bad as other sectors. Environment, architecture and urbanism positions dropped from 124 points to 74 points between December 2008 and January 2009, and administrative jobs also slumped from 132 points to 87 points in the same time frame.
Hugo Sellert, head of economic research at Monster Worldwide, said: “The jobs market is an obvious casualty of the deepening recession, and online advertised vacancies reached a two-and-a-half-year low in January.”
However, Sellert pointed out that demand healthcare, education and other public sector areas remained strong and would offset private-sector job losses.
The drop in advertised HR positions has accelerated in recent months, falling by more than 20 points each month since November 2008. The total drop from September through November was just 20 points.
[Headline and first paragraph changed 10:40am, 11 February 2009]
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