A record number of people are searching for employment on the Jobcentre Plus website - making it the UK's number one recruitment site.

Nearly five million weekly searches were recorded in the first quarter of 2006 on the award-winning Jobcentre Plus website which is part of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Searches have doubled in the last year as more than 1.5 million users logged onto the site during the last week of March 2006 compared to up to 700,000 during the same week last year.

Other annual website figures for 2005 revealed some more unexpected findings:

New Year's Resolutions to find a new job helped double the number of visits to the site on New Years Day this year - more than 61,000 logged on compared to New Years Day 2005. And Valentines Day this year witnessed an unprecedented number of visitors with more than 226,000 logging on to the site compared to 2005.

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.

“I’m really pleased to see so many people making use of the website. We want to make the most of developments such as this to help continue getting people back into work. At almost 75% we already have one of the highest levels of employment in the EU and G8, but we want to raise that even higher.”

Lesley Strathie, Chief Executive, Jobcentre Plus said:
“The Jobcentre Plus website has gone from strength to strength this year with more and more jobseekers and employers turning to the Internet to find and fill jobs. The site has become an important channel to help people back into work and to provide quick and easy-to-use access to the jobs available to them. With the introduction of our award-winning Employer Direct Online service we hope this trend continues into 2006 as we look to continue to improve the accessibility to work and benefit services for all our customers.”

Part of the website's success can be attributed to the Government’s Employer Direct online (EDON), the first employer-facing internet service. Launched in May 2005, the service allows employers to advertise posts via the site and now makes up 15 per cent of all Jobcentre Plus’ weekly vacancies.