23 May 2006

The government-run Jobcentre Plus website has received a record amount of visitors in the first three months of this year, making it the UK's most used recruitment site.

More than five million weekly searches were carried out in the first quarter of 2006, with a large increase recorded in the number of people logging on to the site as well.

For example, in the last week of March 2006, over 1.5 million users signed up to the website compared to around 700,000 during the same period and 61,000 more people logged on to the site on New Year's Day this year than on the same day in 2005.

These increases have partly been helped by the government's Employer Direct online service, launched in May 2005, which allows employers to advertise positions directly through the website. This currently makes up 15 per cent of all Jobcentre Plus' weekly vacancies.

Minister for employment and welfare reform Jim Murphy said: "It's not always convenient for people to check for vacancies in person or during opening hours - so it makes more sense to take the first steps back to work from the comfort of their own home, or at a computer in their local library or community centre.

"We want to make the most of developments such as this to help continue getting people back into work. At almost 75 per cent we already have one of the highest levels of employment in the EU and G8, but we want to raise that even higher."

© Adfero Ltd

Keep up to date with industry and Nomensa news by signing up to Nomensa newsletters.