Is a Yahoo! without HotJobs a peanut butter sandwich without jelly?

According to news reports, Yahoo! is looking to sell its well-known HotJobs employment site.

Of the “big three” job boards, HotJobs typically trails CareerBuilder and Monster.com. In March, it drew 15.8 million unique users, down 1% from a year earlier, according to ComScore.

Still, it could easily fetch a decent price, according to StreetInsider.com, which notes that Gannett bought just 10% of CareerBuilder for $135 million in 2008.

In the aftermath of two rounds of layoffs over the past 16 months, the company could lay off close to 600 employees within the coming week. Just last year, Yahoo! HotJobs introduced HotJobs Smart Ads (display ads tailored to active and passive job seekers) and Premium Company Profiles (company-specific content to feature employment brands). Yahoo! purchased HotJobs in 2001 for $436 million.