The article went largely unnoticed last week due to the jobster buzz but the Business Week story on the job board landscape was a very interesting read. Check it out here. There were several important points which I think recruiters need to know.

1. Niche job boards now control 64% of the market, up from only 39% in 2004

2. Past 6 months: visits to Monster, HotJobs and CareerBuilder dropped by 23.7%, 18.4% and 7.1% respectively.

3. LinkedIn is now profitable.

4. Monster tripled its sales force in 2006. (hmmm, getting desperate?)

5. Consolidation is coming: "analysts say... Some of the Big Three may need to gobble up successful niche sites"

Here's a quote from a Monster exec: "We are planning to be a consolidator," says Doug Klinger, president of Monster North America.

"I wouldn't be too surprised if Google teamed up with or bought CareerBuilder or Monster," says analyst from Borrell Associates.

6. The Big 3 are in denial:

For now, pointing to their revenue growth, the Big Three deny their foothold on the market is slipping. CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson says tools like social-networking job sites are yet to be proven: "We don't believe there's such a thing as a community of job seekers," he says.

Labels: Job boards