US online jobs index at 2-1/2- year high in June

NEW YORK: A monthly gauge of online labor demand in the United States rose to its highest level in more than 2-1/2 years in June, a private research group said on Friday.

Monster Worldwide Inc, an online careers and recruiting firm, said its employment index rose 2.1 percent to 146 points last month from 143 in May. It was the highest level since October 2008.

The index was up 3.5 percent from 141 in June 2010.

"We're seeing growth throughout 2011, so it's reason for me to be optimistic," said Jesse Harriott, a senior vice president at Monster.

"It's a mixed labor market picture though, with highly skilled, well educated workers definitely in a war for talent and employers competing for that group very vigorously, compared to less educated workers where we're not seeing as many opportunities as we would hope to see as the economy recovers."

The index saw annual growth in 13 of the 20 industries and 15 of the 23 occupations monitored last month.

Demand for jobs in mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction led annual gains among industries, while wholesale and retail trade also expanded, Monster said.

The information segment grew with a growing need for workers in telecommunications and Internet media. Demand fell in construction, real estate, food services and public administration.

The report was another look at the jobs market ahead of Friday's non-farm payrolls report, which is expected to show modest improvement in June.

The Monster Employment index is a monthly analysis based on a selection of corporate career sites and job boards. The margin of error is approximately plus or minus 1 percent.

Copyright Reuters, 2011