• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, February 19, 2009

As January marked the beginning of tax season, the tax category led as the top-gaining category among online properties during that month, according to comScore monthly analysis of U.S. consumer activity.

The comScore Media Metrix service found that job search, government and travel-related sites also witnessed strong gains.

"January has once again seen seasonal gains in the tax, career and travel categories, reflecting the typical American's tendency to plan for the New Year," said Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of comScore Media Metrix, in the report. "This month also saw Facebook break into the Top 10 Properties ranking for the first time, reminding us that 2009 will likely continue to see growth in the adoption and usage of social media."

The tax category witnessed a 176% gain to 24.7 million visitors, making it the top-gaining category for the month.

January has historically been a strong month for career sites, as the beginning of the New Year prompts many Americans to reconsider their current career trajectory and future goals. However, the surge in visitors this January also reflects the millions of lost jobs across the nation, resulting in significant increases to both the job search category--up 42% to 26.7 million visitors--and career resources category--up 26% to 48.9 million visitors.

The job search category was led by CareerBuilder.com with 12.2 million visitors--up 34% versus December--Monster.com with 9.5 million visitors--up 42%--and Yahoo HotJobs with 7.7 million visitors--up 38%).