More companies are recruiting overall but number of advertised vacancies is fewer, says Jobsite

The report shows it is SMEs that have made the biggest change in recruitment with 11% more advertising vacancies in this wave of research then in February 2010.

Businesses are also looking to return to more tried and tested recruitment methods with adverts in newspapers, on job boards or in trade publications the most likely considered options for recruitment and a sharp decline in using social networking websites or business networks. This is reflected in how people are looking for jobs, with the most popular method being online job boards and both social networking and career fairs experiencing declines.

Both businesses and jobseekers are looking for a simple, ‘no-frills’ service from job boards but whereas recruiters tend to remain focused on using one job board, candidates are more likely to use several different ones. The latest research shows an 8% increase in candidates using between three and five job boards. This is in line with businesses wanting to minimise recruitment costs and candidates feeling they have a greater chance of finding a job by spreading their net wide.  

Keith Potts, MD of Jobsite, said: "The Online Recruitment Quarterly Market Tracker report is an invaluable piece of independent research detailing how both recruiters and jobseekers are changing their behaviour. It helps to show the true effects that factors such as the recession or a new government have on job hunting and recruiting. It’s fascinating to see both the similarities and differences between the two audiences and by gaining a better understanding of their changing attitudes and behaviour it means we can do a better job at meeting their needs."