Web Takes Employment Lead

According to a study conducted by Booz Allen Hamilton, 51 percent of all new hires in the U.S. were sourced via the Internet. The study also showed that the majority of employers felt the Web contributed to an increase in quality of new hires in 2005 over previous years. Outside of jobs produced through the Internet, employee referrals were responsible for 19 percent, employment search firms for 10 percent and newspapers for 5 percent. The most employer satisfaction with new hire sources was from employee referrals followed closely by jobs filled through a company’s own Web site.

The study was sponsored by the DirectEmployers Association, a non-profit organization comprised of over 200 large U.S. employers.

While these trends pointed to continued growth for Web-based hiring sources, there are concerns with some new governmental initiatives regarding Internet hiring practices. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commision (EEOC) has proposed some detailed record-keeping requirements to ensure equal-opportunity compliance. In addition, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has also put together their own proposal regarding Internet applicants.

In spite of these increasing regulations, the Booz Allen Hamilton study seems to indicate that the Web will continue to grow as the primary medium for hiring new employees.