January 2005
The job market is on the move, and growing, according to the latest data from online and print information provider, Thomson Directories.

Tracking keyword usage of its search engine marketing service ‘WebFinder.com', the company found Internet searches for the word ‘Jobs' over a six month period to November 2004 had risen by 86% - a significant increase during the period.

So why the surge in searches? Does this suggest more people looking to change jobs? Possibly, but according to the latest figures released by the *National Statistics Office, an increasing number of people are returning to work. Their figures show that the unemployment rate fell by 0.1% during the last quarter to October 04, compared to the quarter before, a fall of 55,000. They also show the number of people claiming Jobseekers' Allowance benefit fell by 3,400 to 833,200 in November, the lowest since July 1975.

Karen Francis, Internet Channel Marketing Manager at Thomson Directories said;

“It would appear that the recent official figures on the jobs market reflect what we are seeing in our search trend analysis. The increase in the numbers of searches for the term “job” would suggest that there is more fluidity in the employment market and more people looking to return to work.

The Internet has established itself as an invaluable research tool when it comes to looking for possible job vacancies. The speed and ease with which this can be done, and all from home, makes it easier than ever before to start the journey to get back to work.”

WebFinder.com is designed to promote websites by achieving priority positions on some of the most popular search engines, including Wanadoo, Ask Jeeves and Tiscali. Currently the WebFinder.com search engine partner network generates over 100 million searches per month.

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