In a major coup, the U.S. Department of Labor has entered into a
partnership with Monster.com, which is owned by TMP Worldwide, to help
standardize job-hunting on the Internet.
The agreement was announced today at the U.S. Department of Labor’s 21st
Century Workforce Summit in Washington by Labor Secretary Elaine Chao and
Jeff Taylor, chief executive officer of TMP Interactive. Maynard, Mass.-based Monster.com also
plans to issue a separate announcement.
Based on the partnership, the two organizations will share data and adopt occupational classification standards,
said Kevin Mullins, Monster.com spokesman. In addition, Monster.com will
link to the federal government’s own career placement site and cross-list
job postings throughout its network.
The agreement is part of nine initiatives launched by the Bush
Administration that also includes training and education.
The news helped bolster shares of TMP Worldwide, which
were up 60 cents at $53.96. By comparison, Hotjobs stock
was down 20 cents at $7.90 while Headhunter lost 5 cents
to $3.70.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who is also attending the conference, urged
the public and private sectors to work together to reach creative solutions
that will help ensure America’s future work force has the skills and
training necessary to support the high-tech economy.
Word of the deal was first reported in Wednesday’s Wall Street
Journal.