Hiring Trends Stabilizing Says Latest LinkedIn Workforce Report

LinkedIn’s May 2024 Workforce Report reveals hiring slowed by 0.2% from March to April and decreased 9.5% compared to the previous year.  

The data coincides with similar trends revealed in the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) — where slower hiring rates were also found.  

Notably, LinkedIn’s data shows how the rate of the slow down is minimal compared to previous months. The 0.2% decrease reportedly marks the smallest annual drop since August 2022 — hinting that most of the significant slowdown in hiring rates has passed.  

This is supported by the fact that the pace of hiring has only slowed by 1% since January. It’s only when analyzing industry-specific data that more significant variations in hiring trends are found. 

According to LinkedIn, seven out of 20 industries experienced hiring growth from March to April. Holding Companies led the way at a 22.6% increase, followed by Consumer Services and Education, both at 3.5%. 

The month-over-month percentage hiring increase for these seven industries were: 

• Consumer Services – 3.5%  
• Education – 3.5%  
• Farming, Ranching, Forestry – 0.8% 
• Holding Companies – 22.6% 
• Manufacturing – 3.1% 
• Technology, Information and Media – 0.3% 
• Transport, Logistics, Supply Chain and Storage – 0.6% 

Many other industries experienced decreases in hiring rates. Utilities, Administrative & Support Services, and Accommodation and Food Services saw the most considerable month-over-month declines at –4.9%, -3.9%, and –3.6%, respectively.  

The month-over-month percentage decrease for industries were: 

• Accommodation and Food Services – 3.6% 
• Administrative and Support Services – 3.9% 
• Construction – 1.0% 
• Entertainment Providers – 1.2% 
• Financial Services – 0.1% 
• Government Administration – 2.4% 
• Hospitals and Health Care – 1.9% 
• Oil, Gas, and Mining – 0.4% 
• Professional Services – 2.5% 
• Real Estate and Equipment Rental Services – 0.6% 
• Retail – 3%  
• Utilities – 4.9% 
• Wholesale – 1.3% 

Regionally, all metro areas tracked by LinkedIn reported decreases in year-over-year hiring. 

However, tech hubs like Austin (-5.1%) and the San Francisco Bay Area (-6.3%) reportedly performed better than others.  

Month-over-month hiring increases were also observed in St. Louis (+3.4%), Detroit (+2.8%), and Philadelphia (+2.2%), while Cleveland-Akron (-6.7%), the San Francisco Bay Area (-3.4%), and Minneapolis-St. Paul (-3.3%) experienced the weakest changes.