Job vacancies across Europe decreased in October for the third month in a row, hitting the transport, production/manufacturing and telecommunication sectors most, according to the latest job index by Monster.

“It is clear the broader economic uncertainties are impacting hiring activity, as reflected by the -3% decline in October’s Index – a rate of reduction not seen since April 2010,” said  Alan Townsend, responsible  for  business operation at Monster Europe.

Job vacancies declined in four out of seven countries monitored by Monster with only Germany (+2%), the UK (+1%) and Belgium (+1%) showing marginal growth when compared to a year ago.

The Netherlands was worst off with job postings falling by -18% year-on-year. This was followed by France where the number of roles on offer decreased by -9%, compared to a -6% in Italy and -5% in Sweden.

“According to the latest OECD figures, larger markets in the EU are now reporting recession, and even Germany which has been the star performer in the Index, has been experiencing a slow-down in hiring levels. However, we also see pockets of resilient demand across key sectors such as education, healthcare and production, which all exhibit growth year-over-year,” Mr Townsend said.

Last month’s top industries included environment/architecture where job positing increased by +24% year-on-year while in education postings were up +10%. The lowest growth industries in October included transport (-9%), manufacturing (-8%), HR (-5%) and construction (-5%).