The top job search terms in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis have little to do with the industries that were most severely impacted by the pandemic, but are overwhelmingly focused on teenagers looking for summer work.
In a survey by Stamford-based Indeed that covers May 23 to June 5, searches containing the word “teen” or “teenage” were up nearly 70% compared with last year. The phrase “16 year old part-time” was up by 38.3% from one year earlier ”“ and it was also up by 20.07% from the previous two-week period.
AnnElizabeth Konkel, an economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab, said that half of the top 10 fastest-rising search terms compared with two weeks ago contained some combination of “teen” or “16 year old,” although summer-related searches with phrases including “summer job” or “summer internship” were below last year”™s trends.
“It seems that the search trend around opportunities for young people is indicative of the current coronavirus situation,” Konkel said, noting the COVID-19 pandemic “has eliminated nearly all summer activities for teenagers. Social activities have been canceled, many camps have closed, public pools remain empty, sports remain paused and many internships have been rescinded. This will substantially change how teens allocate their time this summer. With most of society still on pause and far fewer options on how to spend their summer break, young job seekers are looking for work.”
