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.
Another factor that may be contributing to the hike in traffic is the . Top supporters of rivals and may be interested in an appointed post for after the election. But the number of jobs that can bypass civil service hiring rules is relatively small -- roughly 10,000. And all of the appointed positions are listed in what is called the , which will be updated and published after the election.
Who will fill the so-called plum jobs? Many campaign officials, no doubt, but both candidates tipped their hands a little during last night's town-hall-style debate in Nashville. In response to a question from moderator Tom Brokaw, McCain mentioned former eBay Inc. CEO Meg Whitman as a possible choice for Treasury secretary, and both he and Obama spoke highly of billionaire investor .
A major problem with getting a civil service job is the time it takes to get hired -- often many months, especially if a security clearance is required. "Unfortunately, when it gets six or nine months out, that's far too long," Bjorklund said. "Many of these qualified candidates are being hired by someone else."