Despite the poor reputation of estate agents, candidates continue to be attracted by the property industry’s salaries and working conditions, latest research among Google searches shows.

‘Estate agent’ is the second most frequently searched term among people looking for jobs using the search engine, ahead of other careers.

These include being a project manager, prison officer, accountant, social worker, counsellor, photographer and graphic designer.

But the estate agents profession is beaten by those looking for jobs in teaching, the research by office supplies retailer Brother reveals, which was searched 288,400 times compared to 105,700 for jobs in estate agency.

Brother, which used a year’s worth of search data to compile its report, says there were 10 million job searches in the UK completed using Google by job hunters.

Estate agents

The research shines a light on how the UK has become a service industry economy compared to most other countries around the world.

In many recently-developed and developing nations such as Bangladesh, the Lebanon, India, South Africa, Pakistan, the Philippines and Nigeria, the most popular jobs searched for by applicants are those in mechanical engineering, microbiology, chemical industries and civil engineering – with estate agents nowhere to be seen.

Despite the deluge of people looking for property industry jobs in the UK, research in March this year by recruitment firm Manpower predicted that applicants will face a tough recruitment market this year as estate agents cut their head counts as Brexit and other factors reduce confidence within the industry.