hotgroup surging ahead of rivals registering 20% increase in online traffic

The online division of recruitment specialist the hotgroup plc today publishes its May ABCe audit figures, which confirm its position as one of the largest online recruitment businesses in the UK. The figures show a 20%1 increase in online traffic, putting the hotgroup firmly ahead of competitors Jobsite and Totaljobs2 and only just behind Fish4jobs3, who were last audited in November 2004. The online division currently has 2.23 million registered users in its database and advertises around 45,000 jobs, its client base includes T-Mobile, McDonalds, Natwest, Pizza Hut, B&Q, Adecco and Blue Arrow.



Nearly 1 in 20, or 4.5%, of people using the internet in the UK visited one of the recruitment sites owned by the hotgroup plc in May 2005 as the total United Kingdom unique online audience last month was 25.5 million4.

The group has recently announced the successful restructuring of its online business into two separate brands; hotonline.com and workthing.com. workthing.com has become the first jobsite in the UK to advertise jobs exclusively for employers direct, whilst hotonline.com now solely serves the recruitment agency market. This restructuring has increased efficiency and differentiates the hotgroup from other UK recruitment specialists.

Harvey Sinclair, Managing Director of the hotgroupís online business said,

ìWe are very excited about our latest audited figures. Not only do they confirm our position as one of the leading recruitment businesses in the UK, they also highlight a compelling and irreversible trend in people choosing the internet as their preferred way to look for jobs. î



1 Independent ABCe audit May 2005 ñ 1,147,224 unique users, January audited figure of 739,159 for hotonline and 414,462 for Workthing.com.

2totaljobs was last independently audited in November 2004 - 1,072,910 unique users. Jobsite was last independently audited in January 2005 ñ 882,570 unique users.

3fish4.co.uk was last independently audited in November 2004 - 1,349,137 unique users

4Source:Nielsen//NetRatings