Monster's employment index edges up in August

An employment index measuring online job availability rose a modest two points in August, reflecting employers' increased hiring for the late-summer and fall, Monster Worldwide Inc. said Thursday.

Monster, which operates the online job search site Monster.com, said its employment index rose to 159 last month from 157 in July. Year-over-year, the index remained down 14 percent, however.

"On the upside, the index's overall annual growth rate remained steady, suggesting no major change in underlying nationwide demand for labor compared to July," said Jesse Harriott, vice president of research at Monster Worldwide.

Online job availability rose in 14 of the index's 20 industry categories and 13 of the 23 occupational categories.

Demand in the utilities industry saw the highest rate of increase, recovering from a two-month slide, Monster said. Finance and insurance, and accommodation and food services, which have been hurt by the economic downturn, showed slight gains.

Growth in online job availability for the mining industry has also accelerated, reflecting sustained high demand for skilled workers in oil, gas and metals.

The smaller agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industry saw the biggest decline in August.

Monster's employment index measures employer online recruitment activity nationwide by surveying job listings from more than 1,500 Web sites. The index has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.05 percent.