A small dip in recruitment opportunities occurred in September following a small fall in August, according to the Monster Online Employment Index.

Year-on-year hirings are down by a third: the highest fall last month was seen in the public sector, which fell by 10%. Technology continues to suffer with less opportunities available in IT and engineering.

HR opportunities also fell slightly but Hugo Sellert, head of economic research at Monster Worldwide stressed that all is not as bad as it seems: “I think it should be seen in the light of three months of growth. There’s a natural seasonal correction going from the ‘back-to-school’ and ‘back-to-work’ hiring cycle at the end of the summer and before the seasonal hiring which begins at the end of September. “

The Monster Online Employment Index, which is made up of millions of job opportunities from a representative sample across Europe, gives an indication of the state of online recruitment on a monthly basis.

Overall online recruitment has remained flat in 2009. Sellert commented: “Hiring among UK companies remains worryingly stagnant. As long as the macroeconomic outlook is uncertain, companies will remain reticent to hire workers, which in itself could slow the actual recovery.”

He added:  “It’s very stable which I think means the worst is behind us but so far in the third quarter we haven’t seen any recovery.”
There are some causes for optimism in the private sector however as recruiting in the sales and marketing sector rose, giving the impression private business is preparing for an upturn.

Overall it looks like the UK recruitment market is on track to a recovery, albeit a slow one: “I think the rate of progression is very slow and the UK is still struggling with some very serious economic issues,” said Sellert.

“Looking at the year-on-year growth rate, we’re seeing slight improvement every month since March. By January we should be back on positive growth.”