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Apr 18 2011

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Monster Employment Index Rises 29 percent over 6-month Period

"We've found that there is a need for a reliable way to measure online job demand across the Internet in this emerging market. The initial results of the Monster Employment Index for the Middle East region are encouraging," said Sanjay Modi, Managing Director (India/Middle East/ South East Asia), Monster.com. "Strong pockets of demand in production and engineering-related occupations have led to robust expansion in the number of online opportunities over the past six months, a trend likely to continue as business conditions improve globally,"

INDUSTRY MONTH-OVER-MONTH TRENDS: 11 of the 12 industries monitored by the Index exhibited improved growth trends.

• Engineering, Construction and Real Estate (up 34 percent) topped the six-month growth chart in March as the sector gained an additional one point (one percent) over the February index

• BFSI (up 1 percent) maintained steady growth despite employers easing back on recruitment after bullish February hiring

• Production/Manufacturing, Automotive and Ancillary (up 25 percent) continued to be amongst the leading sectors in the Index by measure of medium-term growth, suggesting sustained positive demand trends in the consumer demand driven industries

• Retail/Trade and Logistics (up nine percent) slipped back to the January level in the Index but continues to surpass the October level by significant amounts

• Consumer Goods/ FMCG, Food & Packaged Food, Home Appliance, Garments/ Textiles/ Leather, Gems & Jewellery (down five percent) remained the only sector to experience a net decline in online opportunities between October and March

OCCUPATION MONTH-OVER-MONTH TRENDS: Online demand for workers in March exceeded the October level in seven of the 11 occupational categories.

• Engineering and Production (up 33 percent) recorded the strongest growth in demand consequent upon robust growth in the Engineering, Automotive and Commerce sectors

• Hospitality and Travel (up 17 percent) maintained a robust six-month growth rate despite a five point monthly decline in online demand.

• Finance and Account (down three percent) remained below the levels registered in October

• Software, Hardware, Telecom (down 16 percent) registered the steepest six-month decline in demand among all occupation groups. Demand for Sales and BD (at 0 percent) professionals tempered and was on par with October level in the Index for the series

COUNTRY MONTH-OVER-MONTH TRENDS

Six out of seven countries tracked by the Index recorded positive growth in March

• Qatar (up 34 percent) and KSA (up 31 percent) registered generally consistent month-over-month growth in online opportunities since November, and led all countries in terms of six-month growth

• Oman (up 31 percent) was positioned third, while employers held online opportunities constant with February levels

• Egypt (down seven percent) declined on a month-over-month and six-month basis, amid a nationwide climate of political transition

• Bahrain: Registered 14 percent growth which in isolation a respectable growth number.

COUNTRY-WISE MONTH-OVER-MONTHTRENDS

KSA Highlights

• KSA outpaced most GCC regions in medium-term growth in online opportunities

• Health Care (up 25 percent) led all sectors in monthly growth to become one of the top-moving sectors in online opportunities between October and March

• Software, Hardware, Telecom (up 28 percent); and Engineering and Production (up 28 percent) recorded the greatest growth in demand in six-months among all occupation groups

UAE Highlights

• Online job market registered a modest two percent growth in UAE between October and March

• Advertising, Market Research, Public Relations, Media and Entertainment (up 22 percent) registered the steepest six-month growth in opportunities, charting consecutive positive month-over-month gains since January

• Demand for Engineering and Production (up 23 percent) professionals was strongest among all occupational groups; up 23 percent between October and March

-Ends-

About the Monster Employment Index
Launched in April 2011 with data collected since October 2010, the Monster Employment Index is a broad and comprehensive monthly analysis of online job demand in the Middle East conducted by Monster.com. Based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large, representative selection of online career outlets, including Monster Gulf, the Monster Employment Index presents a snapshot of employer online recruitment activity nationwide. The Monster Employment Index's underlying data is validated for accuracy by Research America, Inc. - an independent, third-party auditing firm - to ensure that measured online job recruitment activity is within a margin of error of +/- 1.05%. Monster has taken due care in compiling and processing the data available from various sources for Monster Employment Index, but does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or action / decision taken or for the results obtained from the use of such information.

About Monster Worldwide
Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: MWW), parent company of Monster, the premier global online employment solution for more than a decade, strives to inspire people to improve their lives. With a local presence in key markets in North America, Europe, and Asia, Monster works for everyone by connecting employers with quality job seekers at all levels and by providing personalized career advice to consumers globally. Through online media sites and services, Monster delivers vast, highly targeted audiences to advertisers. Monster Worldwide is a member of the S&P 500 index. To learn more about Monster's industry-leading products and services, visit www.monster.com. More information about Monster Worldwide is available at http://about-monster.com/

CONTACTS:
Nidhi Madan Verma
Monster.com
(91) 956 015 5115
nidhi.verma@monster.com

Stephen Reid
Hill &Knowlton
Phone: 971 50 651 7507
Email: stephen.reid@hillandknowlton.com

© Press Release 2011