Google for Jobs tool under spotlight

The tech giant is no stranger to the European Union (EU) competition commission and has been fined in the past for similar anti-trust breaches, totalling more than US$9 billion. Now it is facing claims that Google for Jobs is also anti-competitive.

Google places the job-search widget at the top of searches, so users don’t need to click directly through to job sites. The tech giant does not charge a fee for using the tool but competitors are worried Google is just gaining market share before monetising the business model.

Google claims it had made changes to Google for Jobs following feedback in Europe. It said the changes included offering direct links to third-party job sites and linking directly to job offers available on a single site.

Google for Jobs was launched two years ago, but since then the fast-growing tool has drawn complaints from more than 20 rival job sites alleging anti-competitive behaviour. European regulators have already shown they will get tough on tech giants if they do not play fair.

European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager has handed out US$9.2 billion in fines to the tech giant in three separate anti-competitive cases. “We’re looking right now at whether the same thing may have happened with other parts of Google’s business – like the job search business known as Google for Jobs,” Vestager said this week.