LinkedIn Workforce Report | United States | January 2023
With over 191 million LinkedIn members in the United States, we have unique insight into the real-time dynamics of Americans starting new jobs and moving to new cities. This month’s LinkedIn Workforce Report looks at our latest national data on hiring and migration trends through December 2022.
For more insight into localized employment trends in 20 of the largest U.S. metro areas, check out this month’s reports for: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland-Akron, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Nashville, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C.
Our vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce. Whether you’re a worker, an employer, a new grad, or a policymaker, we hope you’ll use these insights to better understand and navigate the dynamics of today’s economy.
Key Insights
Slight hiring gains to close the year: Nationally, across all industries, hiring increased by 1.1% in December compared to November, the first monthly increase since August. However, hiring is down 10.3% year-over-year and down 9.4% from pre-COVID levels (February 2020). As we progress further into 2023 and economic uncertainty persists, it’s likely we’ll continue to see a slow glide downward in overall hiring levels, mimicking declines we saw throughout the first half of 2022. More specifically, since June we’ve averaged a decline of ~0.6% per month.
New hiring gains seen across multiple industries: Hiring increased month-over-month in 13 of 19 industries. This is a large increase from the two industry-specific hiring gains in November. The biggest month-over-month gains were in Farming, Ranching and Forestry (10.6%), Retail (8.6%), and Accommodation (4.1%). The biggest declines were in Tech, Information and Media (-4.9%), Wholesale (-2.4%), and Professional Services (-1.3%). Utilities is the only industry with hiring above the level we saw last Spring (+14.6%). Other industries that are still holding up relatively well are Farming, Ranching and Forestry (-0.9%) and Government (-4.0%). The hardest hit industries since the Spring are Tech, Information and Media (-37.7%), Professional Services (-27.0%), and Manufacturing (-23.1%).
- Hiring across cities sees new life: Hiring increased month-over-month in 8 of the 20 metro areas we track; this is an impressive increase from last month’s report where no metros saw increases. The largest month-over-month increases were in Detroit (4.7%), Boston (4.3%), and Chicago (3.8%). The largest declines were in Nashville (-2.3%), St. Louis (-2.2%), and Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (-1.7%). While hiring has continued to fall in all metros since last Spring, the metro areas that have held up the best are Philadelphia (-13.8%), Washington DC (-14.0%), and St. Louis (-14.2%). The metro areas that have been hardest hit since last Spring are Seattle (-25.8%), the San Francisco Bay Area (-24.7%), and Minneapolis/St. Paul (-23.1%).
Hiring
The LinkedIn hiring rate is a measure of hires divided by LinkedIn membership. Nationally, across all industries, hiring in the U.S. was 1.1% higher in December 2022 compared to last month November 2022. National hiring was 10.3% lower in December 2022 compared to last year December 2021.
The industries with the most notable hiring shifts month-to-month in December 2022 were Farming, Ranching, Forestry (10.6% higher); Retail (8.6% higher); and Accommodation (4.1% higher).
Table 1: Hiring on LinkedIn, by Industry, through December 2022
Industry | Dec-21 | ··· | Sep-22 | Oct-22 | Nov-22 | Dec-22 | MoM% Change | YoY% Change |
Accommodation | 1.14 | ··· | 1.02 | 1.03 | 1.00 | 1.04 | +4.1 | -8.6 |
Administrative and Support Services | 1.18 | ··· | 1.10 | 1.08 | 1.07 | 1.05 | -1 | -11 |
Construction | 1.22 | ··· | 1.25 | 1.20 | 1.14 | 1.15 | +0.9 | -5.6 |
Education | 1.26 | ··· | 1.22 | 1.21 | 1.19 | 1.23 | +3.1 | -2.5 |
Entertainment Providers | 1.19 | ··· | 1.01 | 0.94 | 0.91 | 0.93 | +1.8 | -21.9 |
Farming, Ranching, Forestry | 1.24 | ··· | 1.13 | 1.26 | 1.17 | 1.30 | +10.6 | +4.6 |
Financial Services | 1.37 | ··· | 1.25 | 1.21 | 1.11 | 1.13 | +1.7 | -17.2 |
Government Administration | 1.08 | ··· | 1.05 | 1.08 | 1.09 | 1.12 | +3.1 | +3.4 |
Holding Companies | 1.41 | ··· | 1.03 | 1.01 | 0.89 | 0.91 | +1.4 | -35.6 |
Hospitals and Health Care | 1.22 | ··· | 1.17 | 1.17 | 1.12 | 1.14 | +1.6 | -6.4 |
Manufacturing | 1.23 | ··· | 1.11 | 1.06 | 0.97 | 0.98 | +0.4 | -20.5 |
Oil, Gas, and Mining | 1.15 | ··· | 1.07 | 1.03 | 0.97 | 0.96 | -0.2 | -16.4 |
Professional Services | 1.33 | ··· | 1.10 | 1.03 | 0.97 | 0.96 | -1.3 | -28.1 |
Real Estate and Equipment Rental Services | 1.28 | ··· | 1.07 | 1.04 | 1.06 | 1.09 | +3 | -15 |
Retail | 1.06 | ··· | 0.91 | 0.90 | 0.89 | 0.97 | +8.6 | -8.4 |
Technology, Information and Media | 1.47 | ··· | 1.21 | 1.12 | 0.97 | 0.93 | -4.9 | -37.1 |
Transportation, Logistics, Supply Chain and Storage | 1.38 | ··· | 1.30 | 1.26 | 1.23 | 1.21 | -1 | -12 |
Utilities | 1.04 | ··· | 1.34 | 1.32 | 1.31 | 1.33 | +1.6 | +28 |
Wholesale | 1.14 | ··· | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.99 | 0.96 | -2.4 | -15.3 |
Methodology: “Hiring Rate” is the count of hires (LinkedIn members in each industry who added a new employer to their profile in the same month the new job began), divided by the total number of LinkedIn members in the U.S. By only analyzing the timeliest data, we can make accurate month-to-month comparisons and account for any potential lags in members updating their profiles. This number is indexed to the average month in 2016 for each industry; for example, an index of 1.05 indicates a hiring rate that is 5% higher than the average month in 2016.
Migration
The U.S. cities losing the most people are Wenatchee, WA; State College-DuBois, PA; and College Station-Bryan, TX. For every 10,000 LinkedIn members in Wenatchee, WA, 1006 left in the past 12 months.
The U.S. cities gaining the most people are Austin, TX; San Francisco Bay Area, CA; and Seattle, WA. For every 10,000 LinkedIn members in Austin, TX, 148 arrived in the last 12 months.
Check out our reports for Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland-Akron, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Nashville, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C., to see which jobs are open.
