Monster Worldwide (NYSE: MWW) and Administaff (NYSE: ASF) moved higher as the stock market fell on 8-26.



Chart Courtesy of StockCharts.com

The stock market was set up for another 500,000 or more jobless claims yesterday. Instead it got only 473,000, a lot less than expected, and two employment related stocks rallied, even though the market didn't.

Two points are important. The market took the news badly, and rightly so. 473,000 is not a great number, even if it was better than expected. Point number 2, is that two employment related stocks held their gains even though the market didn't.

The latter point is probably more important as we head into the future. The employment report is next week. So we should watch what these two stocks do in the next few days, especially in the context of what the market does.

ASF if a human resources management firm which focuses on back office services for small firms. When small businesses grow,they often hire Administaff to take care of their benefits. A good move in ASF would suggest that smart money types may be betting on a small business recovery.

Monster offers us a gauge on what the market thinks about online recruiting and the middle of the employment curve, the technical and clerical, as well as some middle management jobs. As with ASF, watching what happens with Monster is a good idea.

If the stocks continue to rise, it would be a sign that some are betting that next week's emmployment data might be better than expected. That would be especially interesting if next week's jobless claims number is much lower than expectations as it was this week.

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