The U.S. , which is in charge of the jobs site, says the number of visits has now reached 500,000 per day; six months ago, that number was 345,000. The government, however, doesn't count whether each visitor is unique.

According to OPM officials, about 60,000 job searches are being done on the site per minute, and the number of jobs listed there has averaged between 45,000 and 55,000 over the past six months. The available jobs range from low-level-skills occupations to upper management level positions, and the OPM says that IT jobs is one of the top search categories. Over the years, government CIOs have cited the need to replace a in IT positions.

A search on the phrase "information technology" turned up 1,294 listings on USAjobs.gov this week. In addition, many federal IT jobs are filled by contractors from outside companies, which typically advertise the positions on commercial jobs sites.

An OPM spokesman said that the agency didn't want to speculate on the reasons for the growth of traffic on USAjobs.gov.

But , a vice president at consulting firm Federal Sources Inc. in McLean, Va., said the reason for the increase in job seekers seems clear. "It's a pretty , and there are people who are anxiously looking for jobs," Bjorklund said.