Demand for weekend work, night-shifts and zero-hour contracts rises as the cost-of-living crisis bites further

• Indeed’s top rising search terms reveal demand for part-time roles grew by at least 65% year-on-year, as jobseekers explore different ways of working
• Searches for “weekend only” rose by 120% and “night shift part-time” by 110% 
• Demand for zero-hour contracts increased by 70%, despite negative connotations
• “Weekly pay” searches rose 122%, underlining a need for more frequent pay cycles

As an indicator that how people are working is rapidly changing in light of the cost-of-living crisis, global hiring platform Indeed’s top UK 15 rising search terms show a significant rise in demand for flexibility, part-time roles and roles where no experience is required. 

In the three months to the end of January 2023 vs the same period in 2022, searches for roles offering part-time work grew by 65%, with the number of searches for “warehouse part-time” increasing 252% and “retail part-time” 124%. This comes as the latest ONS figures show that 1.22 million people in the UK have second jobs.

Also featuring high in the rankings were roles where no experience is necessary, further highlighting that jobseekers are either looking at roles to supplement their existing income or as redundancies gain traction, searching for new positions. Searches for “support worker no experience” (337%), “full time no experience” (219%), and “work from home no experience” (128%) all feature in the top 15 overall searches. “Remote working part time” is also featured, highlighting the increasing demand for flexibility, perhaps around other jobs.

Similarly, searches for “weekend only” and “night shift part-time” rose by 120% and 110% respectively, as jobseekers potentially look for extra work. And, despite negative connotations and the calls to ban such practices, jobseeker demand for zero-hour contract roles was up, with searches for such positions increasing by 70% year-on-year.

The findings also reveal a 122% rise in search terms for “weekly pay”, underling an increasing desire for more frequent pay cycles. Additionally, searches for “part-time 16-year-old” rose by 189% year-on-year, indicating that rising costs could be driving more family members to enter the workforce or that financial allowances for teens are not stretching as far as they once did. 

Jack Kennedy, UK Economist at Indeed, said: “Our jobseekers’ year-on-year top rising search terms show clear trends as to how the UK workforce is operating during this difficult climate. The growth in searches for part-time and flexible roles and work where no experience is required shows people are increasingly seeking jobs that enable them to bend around their personal lives, and likely their current work lives too. And, with work being sought for less-favourable time frames - such as weekends and night-shifts - and contractual arrangements with zero-hour contracts, it likely demonstrates individuals seeking a second or third job or juggling new work alongside caring responsibilities to pay the ever rising bills. It’s not surprising therefore to see the ONS’ figure of 1.22 million currently having second jobs, exceeding its pre-pandemic peak. Furthermore, the huge increase in demand for roles with “weekly pay” should not be ignored. During this challenging economic period businesses need to not only consider supporting staff with flexibility regarding working hours and location, but also pay cycles.”