Job seekers in U.S. continue shift toward reliance on Internet

Job seekers are using more than one method to find employment, but time spent surfing the Web is a key part of their job searches.

According to a survey by The Conference Board, of workers who searched for a job between January and September, 73 percent reported using the Internet, compared to 66 percent of job seekers during the same time period in 2005.

Gad Levanon, an economist at The Conference Board, said the use of newspapers for job searches dropped from 75 percent to 65 percent between 2005 and 2007, although they are still a major job search method.

Most job seekers continue to use more than one method while searching for a job. Online and print ads are still the most frequently used methods of exploring job openings. However, more than half of job seekers reported networking through friends and colleagues as part of their job search. About one quarter of respondents said that they used other methods, such as employment agencies.

The research shows that the Internet is being used for a variety of job search functions, from gathering employer/job information (59 percent of job seekers), to submitting resumes and applications (57 percent), to posting resumes on a Web site (40 percent) and signing up for e-mail notifications (30 percent).

During September, there were 4.27 million job vacancies advertised online, according to The Conference Board Help-Wanted OnLine Data Series. There were 2.78 advertised vacancies online for every 100 people in the labor force during September.

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