June showed significant hiring rebounds across most of the globe as countries reopened and more people returned to work. However, the pace of these gains are now slowing as the number of new coronavirus cases continues to rise. 

Hiring gains are moderating

Globally, the pace of hiring is leveling out from the gains we saw in June. Despite a more substantial pickup in Brazil, hiring growth elsewhere has leveled out a slower pace than in June. In places where the virus is not yet contained, like the US, we’re seeing a noticeable slowdown in recovery. Here’s a snapshot of the trends: 

• After plateauing in late June, hiring in Brazil slowly increased 6 percentage points between the weeks of July 6 to July 17.

• After a dip in hiring during June, China is back to showing slow but steady improvement, as are Australia and the United Kingdom

• Hiring in the United States slowed down in early July, coinciding with some parts of the country rolling back or halting reopening activities. 

US workforce confidence is trending up

Workforce confidence remains a key indicator for what we might see ahead, and as we now have a full quarter of data to look back on, there are a few key takeaways to note: 

• Financial confidence has been rocky but slowly reaching better footing as hiring has picked up. Workers have been consistently less likely to be confident about improving their financial outlook than they were about holding a job or advancing a career. Interestingly, we saw financial confidence rise among US workers over the course of the quarter as they began to signal increasingly better expectations around income, savings, and investment.

• Confidence levels have been tossed and turned by the changing nature of public health measures and outbreaks across different regions. A few industries remained remarkably consistent throughout: Consumer Goods, Software, Healthcare, and even Education. Confidence ebbed and flowed within US regions: confidence in the South notably rose early, before falling with the recent viral surge; while Mid-Atlantic & Far West regions started low and are now slowly improving. 

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