Significant dip in online job advertisements
The index of online jobs advertised fell significantly in March to 120 from 128 the previous month, but was up 18 points on March 2005, the Monster Employment Index survey has revealed.
Recruitment advertising for HR showed the sharpest decrease, falling to just 62 (100=no change), compared with 128 in February and 96 in March 2005.
The accounting, audit and taxes sector dropped 14 points to 101 from 115 in February and from 106 points in March 2005, the survey of 1,200 European online recruitment sites showed.
The hospitality and tourism sector also registered a sharp decrease from the previous month, falling to 105 from 130 in February.
The environment, architecture and urbanism sector, however, saw a marked increase in online jobs over the month, rising 10 points to a value of 120.
The construction and extraction sector also experienced an upturn, rising three points to a level of 119.
Alan Townsend, chief operating officer at Monster UK & Ireland, said that the index reduction followed a surge in February.
“While there have been declines across the majority of industries, there are still some bright spots for people with specific skills, most noticeably in environment, architecture and urbanism,” he said.
…but Welsh jobs surge
Wales and Scotland were the only regions to register increases in online recruitment advertising in March, according to the Monster index.
Wales showed a rise of four points from February to 130 and was also up almost 40 points on the previous year.
Scotland registered a one-point increase to 113 but still showed the lowest index levels out of the eight regions.
In the Midlands, online job demand dropped for the first time in nine months, down 14 points to a level of 123.
The online job market in the South West stayed relatively buoyant at 125 points for both March and February.
Online recruitment for London jobs fell by six points to 117, but showed a 14-point increase from the previous year.
The South East fell three points on the month to 117.
…and Dutch are online kings of EU
The Netherlands showed the most buoyant levels of online recruitment in March with an index of 136, up 10 points from February and 20 points from January 2006.
The Netherlands registered its highest increase in more than a year.
The UK followed with an index of 120, dropping eight points from the previous month but rising 19 points from January.
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France and Sweden were almost level pegging with 118 and 117 respectively. France registered a slight decline of four points from February but Sweden showed a six-point increase.
Germany had the lowest index rating at 113 points but still reached its highest level in more than a year.
