2016 year in job searches Indeed
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2016: A look back at the year in job searches

12 Dec 2016

As we bring 2016 to close, jobs site Indeed looked back at some of the key moments from the year and how they affected jobseekers.

This year has certainly been an eventful one. From the recent US election and the Rio Olympics, to Brexit and Pokémon Go, we haven’t been lacking in excitement, both good and bad.

But how have the biggest events of 2016 affected jobseekers? Global jobs site Indeed analysed its search engine to find out what jobseekers were looking for, when they were most active and what kind of searches were spurred on by external factors.

January is well known to be the month of resolutions and life changes, so it’s no surprise that the site saw a 44pc increase in job searches in January compared to the previous December.

In the world of technology, jobs connected to augmented reality (AR) spiked in May. Why? It’s no coincidence that Pokémon Go was released in beta mode that same month. It looks like jobseekers were hoping to cash in on the AR craze.

When Britain dramatically voted to leave the EU in June, Indeed had a 73pc increase in job searches leaving the UK, with surges of interest towards Ireland and other English-speaking job markets.

In October, interest in fintech and blockchain roles hit their peak, which is no surprise given that 2017 is going to be the year of blockchain.

Finally, the US election came to a turbulent end in November. Job searches from the US to Canada started climbing on election night as it started to look likely that Donald Trump would be elected. By the time the election was called, US searches for jobs in Canada spiked to ten times their normal share for that time of the day. This quickly developed into searches in other English-speaking countries, including Ireland and New Zealand.

On the flip side, Indeed also saw a spike in job searches within the Trump administration and at his many companies in the run-up to the election.

Indeed job seekers year 2016

Infographic: Indeed

Jenny Darmody
By Jenny Darmody

Jenny Darmody became the editor of Silicon Republic in 2023, having worked as the deputy editor since February 2020. When she’s not writing about the science and tech industry, she’s writing short stories and attempting novels. She continuously buys more books than she can read in a lifetime and pretty stationery is her kryptonite. She also believes seagulls to be the root of all evil and her baking is the stuff of legends.

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