110,000 workers tell employers they are #readytowork

• Job site Indeed launches new feature to help jobseekers find immediate work after  surge in unemployment brought by Covid-19   
• More than 1m jobseekers worldwide added the hashtag to their Indeed profile - 110,000 in the UK
• Feature announced as care and supermarket jobs revealed as most in demand

More than 110,000 jobseekers in the UK have signalled to employers they are #readytowork by using a new feature rolled out by the world’s largest job site, Indeed

With rising unemployment brought about by Covid-19, the feature helps those affected find work quickly by indicating to employers that they are available to start working immediately and are open to any job.  

For companies continuing to hire, the hashtag - which can be added to candidates’ Indeed profiles -  will allow them to instantly identify candidates that are immediately available. Since its introduction in April, more than one million jobseekers around the world have added #readytowork.

Despite the recent spike in unemployment, Indeed data shows there are still hundreds of thousands of jobs available. Each week, 35,000* jobs are added to Indeed in the UK with roles in care and supermarkets the most in demand. Barchester Healthcare, one of the country’s largest care providers, had the largest share of new jobs on Indeed.co.uk so far in May:

The hashtag is one of several new product features Indeed has introduced to help those whose jobs have been impacted by Covid-19. New features include: 

#readytowork: Jobseekers can now easily add #readytowork to their Indeed profile to alert employers of their immediate availability for any job.

Virtual Hiring Events: Jobseekers can sign up to attend open virtual interviews hosted by employers looking to hire for a role or set of roles.

Indeed provides the technology, which manages RSVPs, screening, scheduling and automated reminders, so all jobseekers need to do is show up and interview.

Remote Job Tag: Searches for remote work in the UK have more than doubled since the outbreak of Covid-19*. In response to this growing trend, employers posting jobs on Indeed will be asked the following question: “Can this job be performed remotely, meaning primarily from home? If they answer yes, Indeed will add a “Remote” tag to the job post. Jobseekers will be able to see if a job is tagged as remote in their search results on Indeed.

Bill Richards, managing director at global job site Indeed, said: 

“Indeed’s mission is to help people get jobs and with millions of people facing unemployment or uncertain futures that mission has never felt more vital than it does now. Covid-19 has left many jobseekers and employers wondering what to do next, which is why Indeed is here to help people navigate these challenging times to quickly find work or make new hires.

“Difficult times lie ahead and these new features are designed to quickly match those who are ready to work now with companies who are urgently hiring. Our research shows that while the overall level of job postings are down on last year, there are early signs that new job vacancies are on the rise and in some sectors like health and care rising fast.”