Job Search Web Sites See Big Growth

Job search was the fastest growing online category in the U.S. in 2008, according to comScore.

The job search category saw the number of visitors grow 51 percent to 18.8 million visitors. The final months of the year usually see a slow down in job searching activity because of the holidays, but were instead some of the most heavily trafficked months of 2008.

CareerBuilder.com job search led the category with 9.1 million visitors, up 78 percent from a year ago, followed by Yahoo HotJobs with 5.6 million visitors (up 146%) and Indeed.com with 5.1 million visitors (up 88%). SimplyHired had the strongest growth rate of the top ten sites, growing 161 percent to 3.1 million visitors.

"While much of the U.S. economy is suffering, one online category that has performed significantly better than average during these challenging times is job search," said Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of comScore.

"Online job search resources provide a vital service to those in need of new job prospects and opportunities, and Americans are turning online for this assistance now more than ever."

Demographically, the share of minutes spent by women in the job search category grew significantly, up 7.2 percent compared to a year ago.
 

"It’s possible that women are being either disproportionately affected by job losses, or perhaps are playing a more active role in the job searches of their spouses," added Mr. Flanagan.
 

"In addition, we could be seeing a phenomenon of more households needing to have dual wage earners, as consumers battle the economic crisis amidst a sharp reduction in the value of their assets and net worth."