NEW YORK (Reuters) - A gauge of U.S. labor demand edged up in January, rebounding from December's sharp decline, as hirings picked up in some service sectors, Monster, the global online careers and recruiting firm, said on Thursday.þþMonster said its Employment Index, which surveys online job sites, moved up to 168 points in January from 167 in December and 151 a year earlier.þþ``The labor market is expanding but at a moderated pace from what we saw in the early months of 2005 and 2006,'' said Steve Pogorzelski, group president of Monster Worldwide Inc. (MNST.O), parent company of Monster.þþA strong stock market and booming international trade boosted online recruiting of managers and positions in transportation and warehousing. Online hiring was also strong in the legal and food preparation fields, Monster said.þþOn the other hand, chilly weather and a cooling housing market continued to depress job demand in construction in January, according to Monster.þþOverall, 12 of the 20 industries and five of the 23 occupational categories tracked by the Monster index increased their online recruitment activity in January.þþOnline job demand in the nine U.S. regions tracked by Monster were flat to lower last month.þþThe Monster Employment index is a monthly analysis based on a review of more than 1,500 career sites, job boards and other Web sites. the margin of error is plus or minus 1 percent.þþ
Source: NY Times
