Monster Worldwide Inc, an online careers and recruiting firm, said its employment index gained 2.1 percent to 146 points last month from 143 in March. The index also edged up 0.7 percent from 145 a year ago.

The index saw annual growth in 14 of the 20 industries and 17 of the 23 occupations monitored last month.

Among industries, the transportation and warehousing sector saw the most growth compared to a year ago, gaining 27.3 percent. On the flip side, public administration continued to see steep declines and was down 17.3 percent.

The report was another look at the jobs market ahead of the government's non-farm payrolls report later on Friday. The labor market is expected to have improved in April, with 170,000 jobs added, compared to 120,000 the previous month.

The Monster Employment index is a monthly analysis based on a selection of corporate career sites and job boards. The margin of error is approximately plus or minus 1 percent.

(Reporting By Leah Schnurr; Editing by Andrew Hay)