Job boards are being used more by passive jobseekers as a career resource, rather than by active jobseekers, according to research from Monster.

It found that 10.3m passive jobseekers used job boards in the UK (46%), compared with 6.51m active job seekers (29%) and 5.84m non-jobseekers (26%).

Monster chief operating officer Alan Townsend told Recruiter: "The way people use job boards has changed so much in the past few years. When online recruitment first launched it was only used by active jobseekers but these days people use it as a career resource. People look to see what is going on, what's happening with salary, and which companies are recruiting.

"These people are more valued by employers because they have gathered information over a period of time, they are making a decision based on career opportunity, with a balanced approach."

The research found that the UK has the highest number of passive job seekers in Europe, easily beating Germany (5.25m), France (4.2m), and The Netherlands (1.9m).

It found that that the number of passive jobseekers remained static in 2006 but this, Townsend says, is dependent on the economy.