September 2012 Index Highlights:

• The Monster Employment Index UK registers one per cent growth in September, continuing the rebound noted in August. The findings reflect recent ONS (Office of National Statistics) figures showing UK employment is at a four-year high
• Public Sector, defence, community charts the highest annual online recruitment growth rate at 43 per cent, beating the previous historical high recorded in August, largely due to an increase in part-time and volunteer positions
• The Construction and extraction sector sees the largest decline in recruitment activity year-over-year with opportunities down eight per cent
• Plant and machine operators and assemblers exhibits the highest annual growth for the eighth consecutive month, with an equal growth rate seen in the Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers occupation
• Northern Ireland replaces North England as the top performing region by measure of annual growth while East Anglia continues to show the steepest decline

The Monster Employment Index Europe is a monthly gauge of online job posting activity based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large representative selection of career web sites and online job listings across Europe. The Index does not reflect the trend of any one advertiser or source, but is an aggregate measure of the change in job listings across the industry.

“With nearly half of all industries reporting positive growth, and an overall increase in the UK Index of one per cent, it appears the UK jobs market is moving in an encouraging direction.” comments Julian Acquari, Managing Director of Monster UK & Ireland. “The public sector, defence and community industry continues to go from strength to strength in September, noting a record high in online hiring activity for a second month, largely due to a rise in part-time and volunteer positions.”