©1998 EyeWire, Inc.

Online recruitment activity in Ottawa rose by 21.2 per cent year-over-year in June, but declined by 2.1 per cent from the previous month, according to the latest Monster Employment Index.

The report showed that the movement was similar to that of the national index, which rose by 36.3 per cent from a year earlier but dropped by a marginal 1.7 per cent month-over-month.

"The index reflects a slight dip during June that is in keeping with a seasonal decline in online recruitment at this time," said Monster Canada general manager Gabriel Bouchard in a statement. "Year-over-year growth, however, increased by 37 per cent, indicating that Canadian online job demand continues to strengthen."

All the census metropolitan areas surveyed saw double-digit year-over-year gains in online recruitment activity, with the largest increase occurring in Hamilton at 47.4 per cent, followed by Edmonton at 42.4 per cent.

However, seasonal differences meant that eight cities saw month-over-month increases and five registered decreases.

The biggest month-over-month gain was in Saskatoon, at 8.1 per cent, while the sharpest decline, of 6.8 per cent, was recorded in Kitchener.

The report noted that the huge monthly decrease in online job activity in Kitchener was due to weaker demand for workers in sales and service, business, finance and administrative positions, and health care.

On a provincial basis, Ontario had the strongest year-over-year growth in online recruitment activity at 43.6 per cent, although the province saw a downward shift of four per cent from a month earlier because of weaker recruitment in the areas of business and finance, sales and service, trades and transportation, and management occupations.

All provinces and territories recorded gains from a year earlier.

Seven out of the 10 provinces and territories posted increases between May and June, with the biggest gain of 11.7 per cent seen in Nova Scotia, while Nunavut had the largest decrease of 25 per cent. Quebec was also hit hard with a 10.4-per-cent plunge in online recruitment activity.

The eastern provinces performed well on a month-over-month basis, driven mainly by growing online demand for workers in the art, culture, recreation and sport category, as well as in business, finance and administration; natural and applied sciences; and social sciences and education, the report said.

Five of the 10 sectors surveyed saw month-over-month declines in online recruitment in June, while only two of the 10 posted decreases on a year-over-year basis.

The art, culture, recreation and sport industry and primary sector both saw strong month-over-month and year-over-year gains in online employment for the month of June.

Online demand fell most sharply for management positions between May and June, with a 9.6-per-cent decline.

Year-over-year, decreases were recorded in the social science, education, government service and religion sector and in the processing, manufacturing and utilities category, which saw declines of 3.3 per cent and 2.3 per cent respectively.