European Online Recruitment Increases in March

'The index now seems to be stabilising following the seasonal dip in online recruitment in January,' said Steve Pogorzelski, group president international at Monster Worldwide

Pogorzelski said that the hospitality and tourism sector is showing a spike in demand for workers earlier than last year which 'may indicate a strong European tourism market' and possibly an early start to the sector's traditional spring and summer hiring period.

The banking, finance and insurance sector surged for the second consecutive month, mostly as a result of heightened activity in Germany and the UK.

Meanwhile, heavy industries including production, manufacturing, maintenance and repair and construction and extraction also saw greatly increased demand for workers last month, ending a four-month downturn.

Demand for white collar workers dropped off, however, with recruitment of professionals and technicians and associate professionals falling.

In the UK, online job demand jumped 10 points in March to reach a new series high and continuing the upward momentum seen since the start of 2007, driven by increased demand for workers in hospitality and tourism and sales