GOVERNMENT

Online job recruitment activity and related employment opportunities across the United Kingdom increased in August, pushing the Monster Employment Index UK back to its highest level on record, which was first set in February. The Index surged five points to 128 last month, driven by greater online job availability for workers across a majority of industry sectors including marketing, PR and media; engineering; and sales. The only sectors showing a slight dip in online demand include management and consulting; construction and extraction; and healthcare, social work and personal care. Year-on-year growth of the Index now stands at 26 points, or 25 percent. The Midlands, North of England and London all registered increased online demand for workers last month, with the Midlands demonstrating the strongest rate of growth. Meanwhile, online recruiting activity in East Anglia dropped slightly. Additional information on the Monster Employment Index United Kingdom is available online at its Web site. Visitors can subscribe to receive the monthly UK Index report as well as the broader Monster Employment Index Europe report in English, French, German or Swedish. Monster Employment Index UK data for September will be released on October 10, 2006.