Approximately 70% of major retailers accept hourly applications on their corporate website, up from 41% in 2004.

In addition, 16% currently accept applications on their corporate website only, according to a new survey by Taleo Research.

The study, entitled “Trends in Hourly Job Application Methods at Top 100 Retailers,” also shows that in-store computer-based applications have become more prevalent.

For example, in 2006, 37% of the top 100 retailers provided a kiosk or computer station to accept hourly job applications versus 22% in 2004.

However, Taleo notes that 44% of stores still accept in-store paper applications for hourly positions, with 22 stores only accepting paper applications.

The company finds that while many are taking advantage of today’s technology to help with their hiring and recruiting efforts, some still have a long way to go.

Alice Snell, vice president at Taleo Research, recommends that a more optimized hourly volume hiring process may enable companies “to streamline their communications and generate reliable reporting and recordkeeping, all while reducing their recruitment costs, improving their speed of hiring, and enhancing their ability to recruit and retain the best talent.”

Hourly workers have an average turnover rate of 67%, according to the National Retail Foundation.

Taleo surveyed the stores by telephone, site visits, and website functionality. The research was conducted at four different locations through the month of September 2004 (San Francisco, Minneapolis, Raleigh, and Houston) and September 2006 (San Diego, Denver, Raleigh, and Chicago).