Job searches expected to increase as more kids return to school

Job searches are expected to increase in the fall as more schools resume in-person learning amid the ongoing pandemic, Indeed’s Hiring Lab forecasted in its latest survey.

In the survey conducted last month, 27.9 percent of respondents were actively looking for paid employment, according to results from the group published Tuesday. The figure is a dip from the 31.6 percent recorded in July, though higher than the 24.4 percent of those who searched for a job in June.

The site’s Hiring Lab said the drop was largely attributed to a decrease in job searches among respondents that are already employed. 

However, the group added that active job search has otherwise remained relatively consistent among those who are jobless during the same period. 

Unemployed people were also much more likely to point to the schools resuming in-person classes “as a key milestone for starting a new job,” the group also said Tuesday.

The Hiring Lab said the results suggest an uptick in job search could happen in the coming months as more students return to school.

But the group also anticipated in its report that the current surge in COVID-19 cases fueled by the delta variant could hamper those chances. 

“Continued spread of coronavirus may directly reduce search by intensifying job searcher fears. It could also have indirect effects by slowing the return of in-person schooling or curbing job growth,” the group said.

In recent weeks, many schools have pushed back the date for in-person learning due to fears over the spike in cases seen in the nation over the summer. 

A recent analysis conducted by The Hill last month showed tens of thousands of students have had to quarantine just weeks after the school year started due to COVID-19 exposure.

The data underlines the obstacles schools face as they try to resume classes, while the nation continues to grapple with the pandemic. It also highlights the threat the labor market faces and the droves of parents who want to re-enter the workforce in the months ahead.

The Hiring Lab conducted three online surveys of 5,000 U.S. adults from ages 18 to 64 for the recent report. The first survey was conducted from May 26 to June 3, the second from July 12-20, and the third from Aug. 10-18.

The group said the surveys were weighted for age, educational attainment, race and ethnicity, as well as sex with the 2020 Current Population Survey’s Annual Social and Economic Supplement.