Monster Says Employment Ads Down

Monster.com’s (MNST) January employment index paints an ugly picture for online job advertising - and some rough times for MNST shareholders.

The Monster Employment Index fell 9 points in January to 160, extending the skid in the index to three months. The index is based on a variety of corporate sites and job boards, including Monster. The company said online job availability in nearly all of the 20 industries and 23 occupational categories tracked. (The only exceptions: mining and personal care.) Job opportunities fell in all nine U.S. census bureau regions, and all 28 major U.S. metro markets.

Monster noted big drops in both the arts, entertainment and recreation sector, and the accommodation and foods services sector, concluding that “lower consumer confidence and household spending has made employers in the hospitality industry hesitant to expand operations.”

Online job advertising has dropped 28% over the last three months in the finance and insurance category.

Monster Thursday is down $1.53, or 5.4%, at $27.08.

Comments

[User 162239:]

Monster's decline is being hastened by free job boards like Smuz.com too. Job search engines like Indeed.com and SimplyHired.com make the job sites chosen by employers much less relevant to job seekers. Charging companies hundreds of dollars just to place a web page with a job on it online is not a sustainable business model moving forward.

2008 Mar 10 01:34 AM