Craigslist.org to charge for job ads

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Craigslist, the trendy Web site with ads for nearly everything legal, will start charging for job ads on its New York and Los Angeles sites.

The 9-year-old venture, which already charges for job ads on its original San Francisco site, says it will cost $25 to post employment ads, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Craigslist, which now has nearly 50 sites covering North America and Britain, says the new fees are necessary to cover its costs as it continues to expand.

The closely held company plans to expand to more cities and offer foreign-language sites in the next year, starting with Spanish, said Jim Buckmaster, the company's chief executive.

"Raising revenue improves the quality of the service we are providing and ... it provides the revenue the company needs to ensure we are in a position to offer the public service that we do as broadly and widely as people need it," said Buckmaster.

He said charging for ads will limit the job postings to those from legitimate employers.