Monster online jobs index falls in DecemberNEW YORK (Reuters) - A gauge of U.S. online labor demand plunged in December to its lowest level since January 2007, as a year-end seasonal slowdown met further moderation in online recruiting, a report showed on Thursday.
Monster, a global online recruiting firm, said its Employment Index fell to 169 points in December, from 183 in November. The index was 167 a year ago and 168 in January 2007.
"Approximately half of the index's decline in December 2007 can be attributed to seasonality as employers naturally scale back their hiring activities during the final month of the year," said Steve Pogorzelski, a vice president at Monster Worldwide, in a statement.
The seasonal slowdown has traditionally been followed by a spike in January, with the exception of 2007. "It will be interesting to see the index's January 2008 results when they are released next month," he said.
The Monster index precedes the release of the ADP National Employment report, which later on Thursday is expected to show U.S. private employers added 50,000 jobs in December, a fraction of the 189,000 added in November.
The U.S. Labor Department's release of initial claims for jobless benefits, also due later on Thursday, is expected to be at 345,000 according to a Reuters poll of economists.
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.
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