Monster Worldwide U.S. Job Index Up 7% In November

Monster Worldwide Inc.'s (MWW) U.S. employment index rose 7% in November from a year earlier, driven by retail trade and construction.

The Monster Employment Index, launched in April 2004, is a monthly gauge of U.S. job demand based on millions of employer job opportunities posted on career websites and online job listings.

For last month, 14 of 19 industries monitored by the index showed positive annual growth. Retail trade showed the most significant improvement, up 16%, followed by real estate and rental and leasing, up 14% year over year. Construction as well as transportation and warehousing were both up 13%.

Among the weaker industries, utilities dropped 3%, and arts, entertainment and recreation fell 2%.

The U.S. Labor Department is scheduled to release its latest employment report later Friday.

Private-sector hiring slowed in November in part because of superstorm Sandy, according to a tally of hiring released Wednesday.

Private-sector jobs in the U.S. increased 118,000 last month, according to a national employment report calculated by payroll processor Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) and forecasting firm Moody's Analytics. The October job gain was revised slightly to 157,000 from the 158,000 reported a month ago.

Write to Ben Fox Rubin at [e-mail]

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