What’s Top of Mind This Labor Day – Yahoo! Search Trends

From hurricane Irene and the recent east coast earthquake, to kids heading back to school and the upcoming 10-year anniversary of Sept. 11, it’s clear that Americans have a lot on their minds, and it appears that according to Yahoo! searches the upcoming Labor Day holiday is not nearly as front and center as it has been in years past — searches for “labor day” have gone down (38%)  compared to last year at this time .  With that being said, Americans still love their long holiday weekends and Yahoo! searches reveal what is top of mind as people gear up for Labor Day this year.

Labor Day Searches this Month:

· Searches for “Labor Day weekend 2011″ are up 1,889% this month on Yahoo!.

· Other Labor Day searches on Yahoo this month include: “Labor Day telethon,” “Labor Day sales,” and “Labor Day parade.”

Labor Day Related Questions:

· When is Labor Day? — Searches on Yahoo! For “When is Labor Day?” are up 148% this month, with 58% of overall searches for the term coming from women.

· Does Canada celebrate Labor Day?

· Does FedEx deliver on Labor Day?

In between traveling and barbecues, many Americans find time to do a little shopping on Labor Day weekend.  Whether it’s continuing to prepare the kids for back to school or taking advantage of the sales, Labor Day weekend is a shopper’s paradise.

Shop ‘Til You Drop:

· “Tax Free Weekend 2011” searches on Yahoo! are up 733% this month.

· Yahoo! searches for “garage sale” are up 31% this month.

· Top searched coupons on Yahoo! this month include:

1.)    Dick’s Sporting Goods coupons

2.)    Target coupons

3.)    Grocery coupons

4.)    JCPenney coupons

5.)    Kohl’s coupons

· Top searched clothing brands on Yahoo! this month include: Old Navy, Forever 21, Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch, Express.

· Top searched stores on Yahoo! this month include: Wal-mart, Target, Macy’s, Kohl’s, Kmart.

When it comes to Labor Day, Americans turn to age old traditions like picnics and barbecues to celebrate the end of the summer. And although we’re becoming a little healthier in our choices, desserts still reign supreme.

Did you know, Yahoo! searches for “cherry pie” are up 9,324% this month?

Top Searched Labor Day Dessert Recipes this Month on Yahoo!:

1.)    Peach cobbler recipes

2.)    Cookie recipes

3.)    Cake recipes

4.)    Cheesecake recipes

5.)    Rice Krispie treat recipes

As summer nights drift away, Americans across the country oftentimes use Labor Day as their final hoorah, and Yahoo! searches reveal that when it comes to escaping everyday life this Labor Day, Americans are remaining budget conscious as they consider the idea of a double dip recession in the future.

Labor Day Getaways:

· Yahoo! searches for “cheap weekend getaways” are up 3,602% this month.

· “Cheap all-inclusive vacation” searches on Yahoo! are up 4,808% and “vacation deals” are up 107% this week.

· Searches for “Groupon getaways” are up 60% this month on Yahoo!.

· Yahoo! searches for “travel distance calculator” this week are up 525%.

###

What is Yahoo! Search Data?

People power: We sift through billions of Yahoo! searches to uncover trends, burning questions, popular personalities and hot ideas. Yahoo! has been extremely successful in sifting through searches for trend-spotting, historical insight, forecasting projections, and big-picture analysis.

Follow Yahoo! Search on Twitter: @yahoosearch and @yahoosearchdata