BIRMINGHAM, July 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
Active online job searching has dropped dramatically in the last few weeks according to career opportunity specialists Jobmanji, who have been analysing the data available to identify any emerging job trends.
Does this mean that the UK economy has suddenly turned a corner and people are no longer looking? Guy Baldwin from Jobmanji challenged any such conclusion: "The government might like to claim that, but actually job search activity is more complex and needs deeper explanation."
To better understand the decline, Jobmanji have categorised job seekers into different groups. Guy Baldwin said "Broadly we have two groups; those without jobs or under imminent threat of losing a job; and those who have a job but would like to change it, usually for more money. This latter group are the ones that have the most impact on net search statistics".
In turn they can be broken down into further segments. Those who have an annual mid-year crisis and decide they are under-valued, bored or are just completely hacked off with the boss. This determination to better themselves tends to peak in the miserable winter months before dissipating in the anticipation of a couple of weeks of beach and mojito. They will probably start searching again during October and November, stay where they are for Christmas and search again in January through to April.
Another group in this category are the life planners; career driven people who typically work 24/7 in their heads and will use the holiday to recharge batteries and think about progress. They will be weighing up whether the opportunities are better inside or beyond their current salary source, and, if the latter, they will come back with a job search plan that will involve staying long enough to pick up annual bonuses before moving on in the new year.
The Association of British Travel Agents estimates that around 13 million Britons head abroad in July and August each year; taking out the pre and post working ages means that about 6 million potential job seekers will be out of the country over those two months.
Knowing this, of course, means that many employers do not advertise new positions during these months, partly because they know the prime candidates are likely to be away, but also because their own staff holidays make co-ordinating recruitment activities difficult.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have identified that there were 428,000 less 18-24 year old jobless between March and May 2013, a drop of 12.7% on the previous year and hopefully heralding permanent economic improvement, but inevitably reducing job search activity.
Guy Baldwin from Jobmanji said "One of the great benefits of the internet is the amount of data it gives us to quantify job trends and tailor our services to the market but, like all companies, the real art is actually understanding what that data is saying."
No doubt, come September, the searches will peak again.
Jobmanji can be contacted through http://www.jobmanji.co.uk
Contact: Guy Baldwin +44-(0)121-374-2188
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