Online job numbers have dipped to their lowest since the turn of the century, according to new figures from the AlljobsUK.com’s National Online Recruitment Index.

The data is collected by AlljobsUK.com from a number of recruitment websites, which shows the usual seasonal rise and fall, as well as the growth or decline in recruiting confidence among Britain’s employers.

The data shows that at least 15m fewer jobs have been advertised on the internet in the UK in 2009, compared to 2008, while the report records a surge in the number of jobseekers, applying for at least 45% fewer jobs. In the last 18 months, job board CV-Library has reported twice the number of registered database of jobseekers to over 2m.

Stephen O’Donnell, director of AlljobsUK.com, says: “As our report demonstrates, the index was still around the initial datum point of 1,000 in January 2001. It actually dropped in 2002, and again in 2003, as a result of the ‘DotCom Bubble’ bursting, and then rose steadily, as business confidence grew.

“Confidence in online recruiting also grew rapidly, until late 2007, when the Northern Rock crisis shook the commercial world. They say that a rising tide lifts all boats, but the dramatically falling tide of 2008 exposed traditional newspaper recruitment advertising, and all its inefficiencies.”