The Jobcentre Plus website has reported a record 5.4 million job searches in a single week in September, which meant it accounted for 13% of the overall recruitment market.

It is also now ranked the 57th most popular website in the whole of the UK and handled over 120 million job searches between April and September this year.

Despite the summer being a typically quiet time for job hunting, the Jobcentre Plus site received an average of 1.5 million user visits each week – almost double the average traffic received during the same period in 2005. The average number of job searches conducted has also risen by nearly one million since last year increasing from an average of 3.9 million between April and September 2005 to 4.8 million in the same six months of 2006.

Lesley Strathie, chief executive, Jobcentre Plus, says: “Our website provides a vital channel for helping large numbers of people back into work and we hope this recent increase in activity is a sign of continued growth to come. The Jobcentre Plus site has handled a steady increase in traffic over the last few months despite the traditional seasonal dip in recruitment activity. It indicates the growing trend amongst both jobseekers and employers to use the Internet to find and fill jobs. It also shows the increasing significance of Jobcentre Plus in the UK recruitment market.”

Jobcentre Plus Internet service for employers, Employer Direct online, receives an average of 10,000 vacancies each week and now accounts for 25% of all Jobcentre Plus’ weekly vacancies.