REED, Britain’s leading recruitment firm, has revealed an 89% spike in job applications on the first working Monday of the new year, compared to the average Monday in December.

 

As well as job applications, REED’s data also shows a rise in visitors to its online site, with over 500,000 jobseekers looking for new roles across the recruitment firm’s job database.

 

REED’s announcement coincides with the launch of a new self-help book by James Reed, Chairman of REED. Life’s Work: 12 Proven Ways to Fast-Track Your Career is the third and final installment in James’s best-selling series including ‘Why You? 101 Interview Questions You’ll Never Fear Again’.

 

Released at the busiest time of the year for reed.co.uk, when on average 4.5 million job applications are made on the site during January, Life’s Work is a candid, practical and empowering book for those looking to find meaningful work at all stages of life.

 

Drawing on James’s 25-year career and extensive business network, the book offers unique and unexpected insights into how to build and sustain a rewarding career. Consolidated into 12 simple methods, Life’s Work challenges the existing thinking and approach to help readers power ahead.

 

Commenting on the figures and the launch of his new book, James REED, Chairman of REED, said:

 

“It’s positive to see 2020 begin with a surge in job applications, however we have seen an overall year-on-year decline in the number of job postings at the start of the year. The logistics and transport sector for example has seen a large decrease in postings possibly reflecting greater efficiencies in the sector from technological developments. Meanwhile, other sectors have seen increases, such as education where there was a 10% rise in postings in the first seven days of the new year.”

“It remains to be seen whether stability provided by the election result, will seep into hiring decisions in businesses across the UK and whether we will see an overall uptick in job opportunities in the market in 2020.”

“Regardless, a large number of workers are still re-evaluating their career paths after the Christmas break and may look to make the switch to a more fulfilling and rewarding job. But before looking at any new opportunities, jobseekers need to determine the working environment they desire, the sector they want to work in and the type of boss that will push them to succeed. This will help workers on the path to loving Mondays again in 2020.”