Benefits February 10, 2006

Internet Now Primary Source of New Hires

February 10, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A new survey from DirectEmployers Association, operator of Jobcentral.com, shows that the internet is now the primary hiring source for employers.
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Internet sources produced 51% of all new hires in 2005, DirectEmployers said in its press release. The largest Internet source for new hires was the company’s own corporate Web site. In contrast, newspaper advertisements produced only 5% of new hires.

The survey found, according to the news release, the percentages of new hires for each Internet source are:

  • Corporate Employment Web Sites: 21%;
  • General Job Boards: 15%;
  • Niche Job Boards: 6%;
  • Social Network Web Sites: 5%; and
  • Commercial Resume Databases: 4%.

Employers reported that they find the highest quality candidates and receive the highest return on their investment from their own corporate Web sites and from employee referrals. General Job Boards represent the highest recruitment spending category for corporations, at 27% of the recruiting advertising budget; however, survey respondents reported that such boards generated only 15% of new hires in 2005.

Seventy-three recruiters from leading employers answered questions to the survey evaluating the impact and trends in usage around eleven recruiting sources. The Recruiting Trends Survey results can be found here .

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