A new monthly jobs indicator released today by Internet Association shows an increase in the number of full and part time job postings online after a slump during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. And its brand new ‘online income tracker’ – identifying the amount of additional income being made by people online through, for example, selling products on platforms like Etsy or Ebay – shows that over a quarter of UK adults now use the internet to earn money online.
With the lockdown during the middle of 2020 causing many businesses to close their doors, the data show the impact on new job postings online during that time, with a dramatic fall during April through to June – particularly among part time roles. However, as the economy slowly reopens, August saw a 63% increase in full time job postings and an 85% increase in part time job postings. This continued to rise in September – suggesting a slow but gradual recovery of the jobs market.
The new data, part of IA’s ‘Industry Indicators: Jobs (3i Jobs) Report’ series, presents monthly insights on the UK job market using data from national and internet-based resources. The report tracks month to month trends in the online job market and presents unique information on hiring and openings.
And, for the first time, a brand new online income tracker that identifies the amount of additional income being made by people online through, for example, selling products on platforms like Etsy or Ebay. That tracker shows that over a quarter of UK adults now use the internet to earn money online. This marks a continued increase, with a report released in 2019 by Etsy showing that income from selling on the platform had jumped by 3 percentage points.
IA UK Executive Director Daniel Dyball said, “This new report shows how the internet is a vital tool to help people find work and create income in a variety of ways. Our inaugural report is cause for cautious optimism for the UK jobs market. It shows rapid growth in online job postings after a difficult period during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, and a sizable increase in people earning money online.”
Key findings from IA’s ‘Industry Indicators: Jobs (3i Jobs) Report’ include:
* After a slump during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, online job postings are up considerably despite the UK unemployment rate rising – offering some hope for those losing their jobs. Online job postings for full time positions are up 6.8% month over month in September, while part time positions are up 10.4% month over month.
* Over a quarter of UK adults now use the internet to earn money online – with the most common amounts being around £10-20 per month, through to £100 a month. This is up from around a fifth of UK adults using the internet to earn money online in July, suggesting that people are beginning to use the increased flexibility of home working to earn additional income online.
* The number of people earning more than £250 per month in additional income online has also jumped according to this report. In January, 3% of online earners said they made more than £250 a month, but by September this had risen to 9%. People earning £100 a month also doubled, from 5 percent in January to 10 percent in September.
* The three top postings for full time positions in September were Customer Assistant, Housekeeper and Warehouse Worker. The three top postings for part time positions were Retail Sales Associate, Customer Assistant and Order Picker.
Dyball added, “This report shows the potential of using the internet to better understand our jobs market. We hope that it proves a useful tool for people to track the online jobs market in the UK through this difficult period and beyond, and look forward to releasing further editions in the coming months.”
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