According to figures from the Monster Employment Index, legal recruitment has plummeted by 12% since July 2007 while the healthcare and social-work sector reported a year-on-year growth of 17%.
The largest decline was in the South West where year-on-year growth in the area was 3%, the lowest it has been since January 2008.
Hugo Sellert, head of economic research at Monster Worldwide, said: "The UK economy continues to slow and the outlook for the rest of 2008 remains gloomy."
He adds: "Given this backdrop, it is not surprising online recruitment is now moderating with fewer job offerings than a year ago in areas such as finance, retail and technology."
The report found the outlook was more promising in Northern Ireland. Here, online recruitment has risen by 30% since July 2007.
Recruitment plummets in legal sector
Online recruitment in the legal sector has seen the largest decline on record.
