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The Dallas Job Market

Brought to you by Monster Intelligence Fourth Quarter 2008

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

A Word about Monster Intelligence 2

2008-9 Dallas Insights and Analysis 3

The State of the Dallas Job Market 4

Dallas Employment Situation 5 Unemployment Rate 5 Payroll Growth 5

Dallas Online Recruitment 6 Monster Employment Index 6 Top Index Growth Occupations 7

Dallas Monster Performance Report 8

Job Posting Trends on Monster 8 Resume Trends on Monster 8

Dallas Job Postings Analysis 9 Top 10 Job Occupations by Volume 9 Top 10 Job Occupations by Growth 9

Dallas Talent Availability Analysis 10 Top 10 Job Seeker Occupations by Volume 10 Top 10 Job Seeker Occupations by Growth 10

What do Recruiters think? 11 Anticipated Hiring Needs 11 Percentage of Open Positions Considered “Difficult to Fill” 11 Sourcing Tactics in Use 12

What do Job Seekers Have to Say? 13 Perceived Usefulness of Resources 13 Importance of Employer Benefits & Characteristics 14

Improving Recruitment and Sourcing in 2008-9 15

A Word about our Methodology 15

A Word about Monster Intelligence As the online recruitment leader, Monster has consistently maintained a leadership position in defining and driving innovative products and services to champion online recruitment. We see tremendous value in providing our clients, the online recruitment industry and the public at large with analysis on both job seeker and employer behaviors, as well as general employment market trends. In direct response to our customers’ needs for strategic Human Capital intelligence, Monster has created a new initiative, entitled Monster Intelligence that is focused on providing business leaders and HR Executives real-time insight into market trends that will guide them in future recruitment planning.

As the market leader, Monster is uniquely positioned to provide strategic information on employment trends to Corporate Executives and Hiring Managers. These tools provide our customers views into the labor market and comprehensive information to further our customer’s employment strategy.

More details are available on the Monster Intelligence website at: http://intelligence.monster.com. We welcome your insight and comments on the Monster Intelligence Reports and encourage you to let us know your thoughts by providing feedback at Intelligence@monster.com.

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2008-9 Dallas Insights and Analysis

The Dallas Job Market Report delivers insights and analysis of key job seeking and recruiter activity trends in the Dallas labor market. A global leader in HR related intelligence, Monster’s reports can help companies land the most talented Dallas professionals. Inside you’ll find out what’s happening in this highly competitive region for 2008-9 hiring and recruitment planning.

Key Insights

• The Dallas metro economy has been affected by the housing slowdown and the global financial crisis, but less so than many other parts of the country. Indeed, Texas as a whole leads all states in terms employment growth over the past year.

• Online recruitment activity has eased in Dallas with overall employer demand now well below year-ago levels. However, opportunities for healthcare professionals have skyrocketed as there are not sufficient candidates to satisfy the need for workers.

• Monster’s Dallas usage data suggests that the labor market balance is shifting in favor of employers: while job posting activity has moderated considerably, resume trends in 2009 have been closer to steady, giving recruiters a larger pool from which to source candidates.

• Employers posting their jobs on Monster in Dallas are particularly looking for computer software engineers, computer support specialists, accountants, computer systems analysts, and customer service representatives.

• Meanwhile, the greatest increases in worker demand compared to a year ago in Dallas are for machinists, registered nurses, industrial machinery mechanics, mechanical engineers, and natural science managers.

• On the seeker side, Dallas’s candidate supply is most abundant for customer service representatives, executive secretaries, general managers, sales managers, and office/administrative supervisors.

• Over the year, resume submissions in the Dallas region have expanded most notably for credit analysts, mechanics/installers, construction supervisors, software engineers, and rebar workers.

• Despite the labor market shift providing employers with a greater quantity of candidates, Dallas recruiters’ most common concern is finding appropriately qualified applicants for available job opportunities.

• Dallas-based job seekers expressed that getting an employer or recruiter to contact them and finding a job that matches what they want as being the most common challenges when looking for a new employment opportunity.

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The State of the Dallas Job Market

While conditions in the Dallas economy appear to be more sound that those seen nationally, waning global/national business activity is increasingly weighing on the local market. Adding further downward pressure on Dallas were the temporary disruptions created by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike on the state of Texas. In summary, economic conditions are pushing Dallas into a less favorable situation than just six months ago. The labor market has loosened somewhat, with a deceleration in job growth coinciding with a rise in unemployment. The Monster Employment Index illustrates a likewise decline in online recruitment activity. Looking toward the end of the year, the sluggish economy promises to impose considerable weight on hiring decisions of Dallas area employers. According to Manpower’s latest quarterly survey, about 18 percent of employers plan to add workforce in the fourth quarter, a decrease from the 22 percent who planned new hires in the third quarter of 2008. The survey also finds that 12 percent of surveyed employers are planning to reduce staff in the fourth quarter, in contrast to 2 percent in the previous survey.1 While expectations appear to be substantially tempered heading into the final months of the year, it is worth noting that net hiring is likely to remain in the positive. In September, the Dallas-Forth Worth-Arlington area was churning out new jobs at a pace exceeding 54,000 per year. Overall, the largest job gains in sheer numbers came in education and health services; natural resources, mining and construction and leisure and hospitality. The annual employment growth rate for the metro area was 1.8 percent in September, outpacing the nation by a significant margin. With the exception of manufacturing and information, all major industry sectors featured positive job growth. Even the financial services industry, which has endured countless challenges nationwide this year, appears somewhat strong in Dallas, and should remain so in the fourth quarter. Robert Half International’s latest survey of area CFOs finds that 8 percent expect to add staff in the fourth quarter and 2 % anticipate reductions in personnel.2 Despite the job gains, however, the local labor market continues to loosen. Between August and September, the number of unemployed residents in Dallas-Forth Worth-Arlington grew by approximately 3,800 persons, pushing the jobless rate to 5.3 percent – the highest level in two years. This flood of out-of-work jobseekers likely consists of new entrants to the workforce, as well as laid off workers from large corporations such as Forth-Worth based AMR Corp. owner of American Airlines, which recently reduced its job staff to cover heavy fuel costs. Dallas-Forth Worth was ranked by a Bizjournal study as the third hottest job market in the nation. Generally, Texas is doing well as it also includes two other top labor markets – Houston and Austin. The high energy costs that trouble the rest of the nation provide a source of lift for the Texan markets. In addition, employment is growing in the natural resources, mining and construction industry.

1 Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, September 2008

2 Robert Half International Financial Hiring Index, September 2008

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Dallas Employment Situation

Unemployment Rate The unemployment rate continued to rise across Texas in September, with the rate reaching 5.3 percent in Dallas-Forth Worth-Arlington during the month. September’s jobless rate was slightly up from a revised 5.1 percent rate for August. The unemployment rate is a key measure of tightness in the labor market.

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Dallas vs. National Unemployment Rate, %

Dallas National

Payroll Growth Employment trends in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area have remained relatively strong, with an annual growth rate of 1.8 percent in September. Indeed, local payrolls are growing at a significantly faster pace than the national average. Payroll growth is a key measure of new job creation.

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Dallas vs. National Payroll Growth, % YoY

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Dallas Online Recruitment

Monster Employment Index The Monster Employment Index presents a monthly snapshot of employer online recruitment activity nationwide and for 28 of the largest metro areas, and is generally regarded as a key indicator of demand in the labor market. The Index is based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large, representative selection of corporate career sites and job boards, including Monster. Using a baseline value of 100, the Index can be used to compare hiring trends across local markets and occupational groups. As such, a higher Index figure means stronger growth in online job availability.

Dallas’ online job availability declined in October, reflecting a slowdown in online recruitment and job posting activity in the area. The four percent decrease was largely driven by a sharp drop in demand for healthcare workers. However by measurement of year-on-year change, online opportunities for healthcare professionals – both specialized practitioners and generalist support staff – rose significantly. In the last three months, 5 of 21 occupational categories tracked by the Index logged increased online job demand for workers. Despite the decline in hiring activity across most occupations, several categories continued to show robust growth. Job postings for education, training and library occupations registered the sharpest rate of growth among occupations in the last three months, surging 16 points. Reduced demand for construction and finance occupations is one of the main drags on the market, reflecting an adverse impact of the housing market’s decline.

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Monster Employment Index -- Dallas

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Top Index Growth Occupations The following table shows the fastest growing occupational categories over the last 3 months:

2008 Dallas

Oct Jul

Education, Training, and Library 150 134

Food Preparation and Serving Related 202 198

Military Specific 120 117

Life, Physical, and Social Science 124 122

Production 150 148

In contrast, the following five categories saw the largest decreases over the last 3 months:

2008 Dallas

Oct Jul

Healthcare Support 279 373

Healthcare Practitioners and Technical 312 337

Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 212 236

Community and Social Services 155 175

Building and Grounds Cleaning, Maintenance 124 143

Top five growth categories year over year:

Oct Dallas

2008 2007

Healthcare Practitioners and Technical 312 195

Healthcare Support 279 189

Food Preparation and Serving Related 202 187

Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 212 203

Production 150 141

Top 5 declining categories year over year:

Oct Dallas

2008 2007

Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 126 165

Life, Physical, and Social Science 124 157

Computer and Mathematical 112 144

Business and Financial Operations 113 144

Office and Administrative Support 120 150

For more information about the Index, visit http://corporate.monster.com/Press_Room/MEI.html.

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Dallas Monster Performance Report

In Dallas, monthly job volume has tapered in 2008. Taking account for typical seasonal swings, the general trend reflects slower demand conditions in the region. Overall job posting volume in the autumn season resembles that seen in 2005.

But what about the other side of the equation – job seekers? In the Dallas metro area, monthly resume submissions on Monster have eased slightly compared to a year ago. This might point to longer job search cycles, in which Dallas seekers are more apt to revise existing resumes as opposed to create new ones in the Monster database.

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Dallas Job Postings Analysis

Employers in Dallas are looking for a wide variety of worker skills, but Monster data indicates that IT professionals remain in particularly high demand, although less so than a year ago. The chart below reveals the 10 job posting occupations in the Dallas metro area with the highest volume of activity for Q3 2008.

Rank Job Posting Occupation

% of Q3 2008

Postings YoY Change1 Computer Software Engineers, Applications 4% -27%2 Computer Support Specialists 3% -12%3 Accountants and Auditors 3% -27%4 Computer Systems Analysts 3% -28%5 Customer Service Representatives 3% -43%6 Executive Secretaries and Administrative Assistants 3% -37%7 Sales Representatives, Services, All Other 2% -21%8 Sales Managers 2% -39%9 General and Operations Managers 2% -29%

10 Network and Computer Systems Administrators 2% -15%

Top 10 Occupations in Dallas - Hightest Volume, Q3 2008

While IT is among the largest recruitment segments, other skill areas have shown stronger upward growth in the past year. Demand for talent has most notably rocketed among specialized engineering/production and healthcare occupations. There was also a strong increase in demand for select transportation/logistics workers.

Rank Job Posting Occupation YoY Change1 Machinists 114%2 Registered Nurses 98%3 Industrial Machinery Mechanics 33%4 Mechanical Engineers 23%5 Natural Sciences Managers 17%6 First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Retail Sales Workers 8%7 Engineering Managers 5%8 Electrical Engineers 3%9 Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers 1%

10 Shipping, Receiving, and Traffic Clerks 1%

Top 10 Occupations in Dallas on Monster - % Change, Q3 2008

(Categories with at least 100 jobs posted in Q3 2007)

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Dallas Talent Availability Analysis

The chart below reveals the 10 job seeker occupations within the Dallas metro area with the highest volume of activity for 2008. There is a particularly high concentration of secretarial and administrative support workers among Monster resumes submitters in Q3. Dallas also boasts a relatively large proportion of upper-level sales and marketing professionals.

Rank Job Seeker Occupation

% of Q3 2008

Resumes YoY Change

1 Customer Service Representatives 8% -15%

2 Executive Secretaries and Administrative Assistants 6% 6%

3 General and Operations Managers 4% -6%

4 Sales Managers 3% 2%

5 First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Office/Admin Support Workers 2% -15%

6 Receptionists and Information Clerks 2% 4%

7 Managers, All Other 2% -20%

8 Marketing Managers 2% 9%

9 Secretaries, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive 2% -24%

10 Computer Software Engineers, Applications 2% 8%

Top 10 Job Seeker Occupations in Dallas on Monster - Hightest Volume, Q3 2008

Over-the-year trends reveal a notable surge in credit analysts adding resumes to Monster amid a less-favorable employment situation. Construction- and installation-related workers are also noting elevated activity on Monster, coinciding with the steep downturn in residential and commercial spending in the region.

Rank Job Seeker Occupation YoY Change

1 Credit Analysts 57%

2 Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers 41%

3 First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers 41%

4 Computer Software Engineers, Systems Software 35%

5 Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers 33%

6 Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment 29%

7 Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks 25%

8 Protective Service Workers, All Other 24%

9 Security Guards 22%

10 Sales Engineers 18%

Top 10 Job Seeker Occupations in Dallas on Monster - % Change, Q3 2008

(Occupations with at least 100 new resumes in Q3 2007)

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What do Recruiters Think?

Monster continuously surveys recruiters and hiring managers to uncover the viewpoint of those on the front lines of hiring. Dallas area recruiters share similar concerns with recruiters throughout the rest of the U.S.: finding appropriately qualified hires is a top issue. When asked how their hiring needs might change, the chart below reveals that 45% of hirers predict hiring levels to remain the same as last year.

Anticipated 2008 Hiring Needs

Key Findings

• Nearly half of recruiters (49%) in the Dallas area predict that their hiring needs will remain the same or decrease.

In 2008, recruiters predict a comparatively stable hiring situation; this is in stark contrast to 2006-07, when recruiters in many sectors faced a more aggressive market for qualified talent. Although the market for talent is less aggressive, some recruiters in today’s economy are still challenged to find the most appropriate hire. The chart below reveals perceptions of “difficult to fill” positions.

Percent of Positions Considered “Difficult to Fill”

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84%

Union or work group association

A newspaper (online version)

A trade or industry publication

Help wanted sign/walk-in and apply

Dept. of Education & Training (unemployment office)

A newspaper (print version)

A career fair

Small, locally focused job websites

College career office

Niche, occupation focused job websites

Online networking (e.g., LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.)

An employment agency or recruiter

Information from a friend or colleague

Large online job sites (e.g., Monster)

Sourcing Tactics in Use: Dallas Area

Key Findings

• Among recruiters for the Dallas area, nearly one-third find that at least half of their job openings are difficult to fill.

Most recruiters for the Dallas area are concerned with finding appropriately qualified candidates to fill open positions. The table below reveals the recruiters’ most common concerns for the upcoming hiring cycle:

62% ability to find qualified applicants

18% retaining quality staff

16% convincing quality staff to join their employer

So what are recruiters doing to fill their positions? The bar chart below indicates reported use of various sourcing and hiring tools by recruiters for the Dallas area.

Key Findings

• As can be seen above, large online job boards are the most common resource used to source job seekers in the Dallas area.

• Dallas employers also leverage referrals through friends and colleagues as well as online networking. In addition, employment agencies play a popular role in recruitment initiatives.

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16%

21%

26%

28%

31%

32%

39%

39%

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76%

College career office

Union or work group association

Dept. of Education & Training (unemployment office)

Help wanted sign/walk-in and apply

A career fair

A trade or industry publication

Online networking (e.g., LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.)

A newspaper (print version)

A newspaper (online version)

Small, locally focused job websites

Niche, occupation focused job websites

An employment agency or recruiter

Information from a friend or colleague

Large online job sites (e.g., Monster)

Perceived Usefulness of Resources - Dallas Job Seekers

What do Job Seekers Have to Say?

Along with recruiters and hiring managers, Monster monitors the activities and opinions of job seekers throughout the U.S. The chart below displays seekers input on the usefulness of various job seeking resources. For each source, the bar indicates the percentage of job seekers who feel the source of is “useful” or “very useful.”

Key Findings

• Most of Dallas-based job seekers feel that large online job sites as well as information from a friend or colleague are useful or very useful resources when seeking a job. This is no surprise given that these resources are commonly used by the Dallas employers surveyed.

Job seekers – especially those not currently employed – often experience a great deal of anxiety when looking for work. The table below captures the most common challenges faced when looking for a job, as perceived by more than 400 Dallas-based job seekers:

54% Getting an employer or recruiter to contact me

52% Finding a job that matches what I want

31% Searching for a job

14% Determining the right occupation

13% Finding the time to get a new job

Key Findings

• Given Dallas’ current labor market conditions, it’s not too surprising that 54% of job seekers struggle to get employers or recruiters to contact them.

• According to just over half of Dallas job seekers, finding the right opportunity for one’s needs and goals is a common challenge when looking for work.

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10%

27%

43%

62%

63%

66%

68%

84%

89%

92%

93%

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98%

Onsite daycare

Product / store discounts (e.g., company discount programs)

Wellness programs (e.g., gym)

Recognition programs

Reimbursement for education, certification, or training

Flexible work schedule / work from home

Corporate culture

Paid time off (PTO)

Opportunity for career advancement

Healthcare benefits

Bonuses and raises

Enjoyment of work

Competitive salary

Perceived Importance of Benefit or Characteristic - Dallas Job Seekers

Employers use many different approaches to attract, select, and retain talented employees. How do job seekers feel about the various benefits and incentives offered by potential employers? The chart below indicates the percentage of current job seekers who feel that the individual benefit offered or characteristic of the firm are “important” or “very important” to them.

Key Findings

• The vast majority of Dallas job seekers feel that having competitive compensation, enjoying their work, earning bonuses and raises, accessing healthcare benefits, and having the opportunity to advance in their career are important or very important in a new job.

• PTO, corporate culture, and flextime are also benefits that employers can leverage to attract the right talent.

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Improving Recruitment and Sourcing in 2008-9

Where does a busy recruiter go from here? Based on best practices in recruiting, as well as the peculiarities of the Dallas market, Monster offers the following tips for improved sourcing and acquisition of employees in 2008-9:

• Don’t assume that competition for the best candidates has lightened up in the wake of a declining economic situation. Employers posting their jobs on Monster in Dallas are particularly looking for computer software engineers, computer support specialists, accountants, computer systems analysts, and customer service representatives.

• Tailor job postings to the most desirable applicants. Some roles are characterized by high performing employees who remain in the job for very specific reasons: Competitive compensation, enjoyable work, bonuses and raises, healthcare benefits, and the opportunity for career advancement. Discover these aspects of the job situation and promote these features to strong candidates.

• Prioritize high turnover roles and those with a long time-to-fill. Simple metrics may be utilized to track these trends.

• Track the success of your different sources of applicants and alter your sourcing strategy around each variety of job or occupational sector.

Successful recruiting is not easy, but a metrics-based, tailored approach to acquiring top talent quickly becomes a competitive advantage when strategies are established and the appropriate tools are put in place.

A Word about Our Methodology

Monster’s database includes millions of annual new resumes and job postings, and transactional data from an average of 130 million job searches and 100 million job views per month nationwide. Monster is the sole source of information for this report; it should only be interpreted as a definitive activity report on Monster and its subsidiaries. Monster’s in-depth data-driven approach improves on typical survey-based methodologies by dramatically increasing the depth and breadth of information collected as well as by capturing actual behavior rather than intended behavior. Data is current through October, 2008.

The main uses of this report are to support managers, HR Professionals and business owners in their online recruitment strategy, guide Monster site usage and improve return on investment. In certain markets, the percentage of the market that is using Monster may be large enough that the trends reflect the market as a whole. As such, Monster Intelligence provides a critical slice of analysis to complement other labor market information and should be considered essential for any true understanding of recruiting and job-seeking activity. If you read this report and think we could do more to help you hire the best and brightest, let us know by emailing your comments to: Intelligence@Monster.com.

This information is proprietary and confidential to Monster, Inc. and subject to the confidentiality provisions of your agreement with Monster, Inc. Any unauthorized disclosure is prohibited.

Copyright © 2008 by Monster, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of Monster, Inc

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