The Monster Employment Index (MEI) UK showed a promising 8% annual rise in online job opportunities in November, despite seeing no change in job activity monthover- month.

This tempered outlook is in keeping with general economic trends across the UK in the third quarter of 2011, with business investment shrinking 1.4%, employment falling by 197,000 and pay rates also on the decline.

However, over half of the sectors monitored did show positive growth, and the transport, post & logistics industry continues to forge ahead with growth of 39%, once again making it the star performer.

Engineering also remains strong in the UK, rising 32% on the same time last year, while manufacturing also saw a positive 12% annual rise.

At the other end of the scale, the legal sector remains one of the lowest performing industries with a 16% fall since the same time last year. And with continuing government austerity measures, it is not a surprise to see ongoing negative job growth in the public sector, which saw a further decline of 11% year-overyear.

Regionally, the South-West maintained its position as the highest performing area for a second consecutive month, while London (up just 10%) saw a slower rate of annual growth, in line with the nationwide average.

The current challenging business climate also appears to be reflected in the overall European MEI, which despite an annual growth rate of 14% has remained fairly consistent with the performance seen in October.

Furthermore, the last three months have been conservative, bearing in mind that autumn recruitment typically peaks above summertime highs and we would usually hope to see a rise due to seasonal employment at this time of year.

The figures are swayed by a very strong performance in Germany, which showed a 30% increase in job activity on the same time last year. Elsewhere the ongoing Eurozone crisis has had an impact, with Belgium (down 1%), Italy (down 1%) and The Netherlands (down 8%) all seeing negative job growth yearover- year.

On the positive side, engineering has performed very strongly in Europe in November, just as it has done in the UK, with a 32% annual rise across the region. The transport, post & logistics and telecommunications industries are the next strongest performers in Europe, coming a close joint second, with both seeing an annual rise of 30% on last year.

Europe has also seen public sector recruiting performing poorly, matching last month’s rate of annual decline (9%) — and this remains the most negatively trending sector. This is undoubtedly linked to austerity measures following the ongoing Eurozone crisis.

Julian Acquari, Managing director of monster.co.uk