Web searches for jobs increase by 20% with seniors the fastest growing group

Web traffic to career development sites increased 20 per cent year-over-year in January, with 65+ being the fastest growing age group in the career development category according to a report released in February.

Nielsen Online reported that unique visitors to career development websites grew from 41.5 million unique visitors in January 2008 to 49.7 million in January 2009. CareerBuilder Network was the No. 1 online career development destination in January 2009, with 20.8 million unique visitors. Yahoo! HotJobs and Monster took the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, with 11.7 million and 9.5 million unique visitors.

“With the current unstable economy and rising unemployment rate, more people are heading online to search for jobs, and interestingly not just the unemployed. The career development category also grew 20 percent year-over-year among at work users, suggesting that many people are trying to build up their resumes and get a sense of the job market before the next potential layoff,” said Chuck Schilling, research director, agency & media, Nielsen Online.

The number of unique visitors 65 and older to career development websites grew 41 percent year-over-year, increasing from 2.5 million unique visitors in January 2008 to 3.6 million in January 2009. This was the largest increase year-over-year among people aged 18 and older.

“While 65 used to be considered the age when most people retired, we are seeing a trend towards later retirement or partial retirement. Much of this desire to stay employed longer can probably be attributed to the fact that people are living longer and feel the need to keep generating income and sock away more retirement savings, especially in light of the current economic climate and its effect on people’s nest eggs. There’s an opportunity for publishers and advertisers to appeal to this niche market by providing content that’s relevant to longtime career holders looking for their next position and trying to shore up their retirement savings,” said Schilling.

At Work Anywhere knows that the 65+ age group has a lot to offer in terms of experience and wisdom. We intend to support 'silver surfers' by assisting them to find opportunities that will make the best use of their life experiences and professional skillsets to the advantage of all concerned.

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.

Visit At Work Anywhere in March to see our beta version. We are all about connecting people and creating opportunities.