A new Web-site suffix could make it easier for people to find corporate job openings.

The nonprofit group that oversees Internet addresses -- the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or Icann -- approved the suffix ".jobs" earlier this month. Employers can use the suffix to create dedicated job-postings Web sites that end in ".jobs" rather than ".com."

Many employers post openings somewhere on their own Web sites. But the vacancies can be hard to find, forcing job seekers to scour a home page for a link that might take several clicks to lead to a jobs section. The new suffix could eliminate that hassle.

Employers could create a new site ending in ".jobs." For instance, Dell Inc.'s jobs site could be www.dell.jobs; Walt Disney Co.'s could be www.disney.jobs.

Gary Rubin, chief publishing officer at the Society for Human Resource Management in Alexandria, Va., says the new site addresses will help applicants and employers. In a survey about a year ago, the professional group found that most employers post jobs on their own Web sites and consider the site to be an important recruiting tool. But some of those polled believed the listings were hard to find and confusing for job seekers.

Job listings at corporate Web sites are "all over the place in terms of the address used," Mr. Rubin says. "There are so many dots and backslashes." The Society for Human Resource Management is sponsoring the new suffix.

The new suffix is operated by Employ Media LLC, a Cleveland start-up. The firm plans to start taking applications for site names around June, says Tom Embrescia, chairman and majority owner. He anticipates strong demand. Each employer will have to pay an annual fee, the size of which hasn't been announced but that likely will be less than $100 for the new site name, he says.

"It's a faster, more direct, more consistent way for people who have jobs to offer to communicate that job offering and acquire qualified talent," Mr. Embrescia adds.

Scott Biggerstaff, manager of sourcing strategies for Sprint Corp. in Overland Park, Kan., says a new domain would be an inexpensive way to attract job seekers and would help internal recruiters more easily measure site traffic and job hunters' interest. The telecom concern is discussing using the domain, he says.

Gerry Crispin, a principal of CareerXroads, a recruiting-technology-consulting firm in Kendall Park, N.J., says few companies are aware of the new suffix but that many will be eager to add the new way of reaching job seekers. He expects it will take at least six months before a lot of employers begin posting vacancies at sites with the new suffix because they must register for the domains and develop new sites.

According to Mr. Crispin, roughly 15% of jobs are filled with candidates that apply through corporate Web sites. In recent years, businesses have sought to increase traffic to their corporate sites as a cost-effective alternative to independent job boards. Doing so also takes advantage of highly automated electronic-recruiting systems and controls the content that job seekers see.

The new suffix represents "a big deal for recruiters and a big deal for job seekers," Mr. Crispin says.