Searches in the UK for home-working positions on the increase

As more people have internet access and understand more about the world wide web, and as technology progresses and continues to develop, so working from home or anywhere, being a mobile worker has moved away from the niches of media and IT into the public domain.

Fuelling this is the global recession which has led to the highest level of unemployment in 17 years in the UK and inflation hits an all-time high, a figure which is likely to rise as more job cuts are made. The result is more people working from home, or searching for home-based jobs.

According to UK job search website TipTopJobs.com, figures released in February show that people applying for home-working positions on job boards have almost doubled in the past month.

Applications for home-based roles during the month of September leapt to 1,673 from 1,176 in August – an increase of 42 per cent.

As 26 per cent of individuals cited family responsibilities as the main reason for seeking home-based employment, it is evident that worries over child care costs and lack of work-life balance are the key factors behind the increasing volume of home-working job board applications.

Home-working job searches may indicate lack of confidence in economy. Corinne Dauncey, Careers Expert from TipTopJob.com, said: “We forecast an increase in home-based applications as it’s becoming more acceptable to work from home. However such a sharp rise is not in line with our predications. We believe it’s another worrying sign that consumer confidence is low and that candidates are worried about the current economic turmoil.

“Economists believe headline rates of inflation are now set to fall back, with oil prices having recently dropped, so it will be interesting to see what happens to these applications, whether they continue to rise or fall in line with inflation.”

In the meantime, for those looking to work from home, there are a wide range of vacancies available through online job boards and job search engines. As long as workers have access to the internet and a telephone, it has become an ideal solution for those struggling with a long commute, redundancy or childcare issues.

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