Europe recruitment index rises in October-report

AMSTERDAM, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Recruitment in Europe improved slightly in October, as employers in the region sought to fill positions in healthcare, education and the public sector, the Monster Employment Index released on Tuesday showed.

The index, compiled by online jobs company Monster Worldwide (MWW.N), measures job listings on corporate websites and is more of a leading indicator of job conditions than unemployment data, which lags vacancies.

October's index for Europe rose to 99, the first rise in eight months, economists at Monster said. The index stood at 97 in September and 152 a year ago.

"Increased optimism about economic recovery prospects led employers in primarily France and the UK to resume hiring in October," Hugo Sellert, Monster's head of economic research, said in a statement.

Corporate staffing needs are a key driver for Switzerland's Adecco (ADEN.VX), the world's largest staffing company, and its nearest rival Randstad (RAND.AS) (RAND.AS) of the Netherlands.

Both have been grappling with lower demand for workers as the worst economic slump in decades has prompted companies to slash jobs. Adecco recently reported an improvement in demand, but Randstad says it is still under pressure from the slump. [nL5347977]

Job openings in the construction and manufacturing sectors continued to decline, Monster researchers said in their report.

The main areas of recruitment growth were in industries fuelled by government spending, reflecting much of the fiscal stimulus that Europe's governments have adopted to promote growth. [ID:nLU629529] (Reporting by Reed Stevenson)