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The Monster Employment index, which is a monthly gauge of U.S. online job demand, went down 29% in the past year. It actually went down a couple points after rising slightly in April. It might not be all bad news though.

"Although the Monster Employment Index experienced a mild decline in May, there are emerging signs of stability in the hiring market. The Index has remained within a four-point band since January and the annual pace of decline seems to have leveled off,” said Jesse Harriott, senior vice president and chief knowledge officer at Monster Worldwide. "While demand has eased across most sectors of the economy, industries such as education, retail and public administration are providing some bright spots."

In May, online job availability rose in three of the Index’s 20 industry sectors and four of the 23 occupational categories monitored. Index results for the past 13 months are as follows:

Some other highlights from the index include:

- Year-over-year growth rate held relatively steady, suggesting stabilization in employer demand for workers

- Education and retail industries demonstrated growth in May, while opportunities in farming, transportation and utilities retracted

- Demand for engineering, IT and legal occupations fell as the broader professional, scientific and technical services industry experienced its steepest annual decline on record

- Online offerings fell across all major regions of the country and 19 of the 28 major metro markets in May

 Data from the European version of the Index will be released next Tuesday.