LinkedIn Workforce Report | United States | December 2023
With over 206 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 November 2023. 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
Hiring slows at a moderate rate in November: Nationally, across all industries, hiring is down 4.9% in November 2023 compared to October 2023, reversing October’s modest hiring pickup. Hiring is down 14.7% compared to November 2022 – the second smallest decline over the past 12 months. While hiring has yet to stabilize, the slowdown in hiring has moderated since the summer with hiring down only 3.1% since July.
Tech hiring is nearing stabilization ahead of overall hiring: Hiring increased in 7 of 20 industries in November, a decrease from 19 the month prior. Industries with the strongest month-over-month growth are Real Estate and Equipment Rental Services (+1.7%), Farming, Ranching, Forestry (+1.6%), and Accomodation and Food Services (+0.7%). Manufacturing (-8.8%), Utilities (-8.4%), and Technology, Information, and Media (-6.7%) were the weakest in terms of month-over-month hiring.
While November hiring was weak in Technology, Information, and Media, hiring there experienced its third lowest month-over-month decline of 2023 and is up 2.6% since July (versus overall hiring which is down 3.1% since July). We continue to see moderation in the tech slowdown from 2022 with hiring declining on average only -1.6% each month this year (versus -4.2% from January 2022 to November 2022). The tech sector is moving towards stabilization - albeit at a much lower level of hiring than seen prior to February 2020.
- Year-over-year hiring moderated across all metros, monthly hiring declines continue: Only 2 of the 20 metros we track saw increased hiring in November, as compared to 19 the prior month. Nashville (+7.3%), Washington, D.C. (+0.03%), and Houston (-0.5%) were the metros with the strongest month-over-month hiring. Boston (-9.9%), San Francisco Bay Area (-7.8%), Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (-6.8%) were the areas that saw month-over-month hiring declines. Year-over-year hiring declined in all metros we track, a continuation from last month. The strongest year-over-year performing metros are Nashville (-4.8%), Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (-10.2%), and Detroit (-11%). Those that continue to struggle compared to a year ago are Chicago (19.5%), San Francisco Bay Area (-18.8%), and Los Angeles (-17.2%).
- Hiring is up in three industries over the past 6 months: Accommodation and Food Services (+3.4%), Consumer Services (+6.5%), and Wholesale (+6.4%).
Hiring
The LinkedIn hiring rate is a measure of hires divided by LinkedIn membership. Nationally, across all industries, hiring in the U.S. was 4.9% lower in November 2023 compared to last month October 2023. National hiring was 14.7% lower in November 2023 compared to last year November 2022.
The industries with the most notable hiring shifts month-to-month in November 2023 were Real Estate and Equipment Rental Services (1.7% higher); Farming, Ranching, Forestry (1.6% higher); and Accommodation and Food Services (0.7% higher).
Table 1: Hiring on LinkedIn, by Industry, through November 2023
Industry | Nov-22 | ··· | Aug-23 | Sep-23 | Oct-23 | Nov-23 | MoM% Change | YoY% Change |
Accommodation and Food Services | 0.99 | ··· | 0.89 | 0.90 | 0.93 | 0.93 | +0.7 | -6 |
Administrative and Support Services | 1.07 | ··· | 0.83 | 0.85 | 0.91 | 0.87 | -3.9 | -18.1 |
Construction | 1.14 | ··· | 1.10 | 1.11 | 1.16 | 1.11 | -4.4 | -3 |
Consumer Services | 1.10 | ··· | 0.92 | 1.04 | 1.11 | 1.11 | +0.5 | +0.8 |
Education | 1.19 | ··· | 1.08 | 1.06 | 1.10 | 1.10 | +0.2 | -7.4 |
Entertainment Providers | 0.91 | ··· | 0.85 | 0.86 | 0.87 | 0.86 | -1.4 | -5.8 |
Farming, Ranching, Forestry | 1.20 | ··· | 1.00 | 1.04 | 1.02 | 1.04 | +1.6 | -13.6 |
Financial Services | 1.13 | ··· | 0.88 | 0.91 | 0.94 | 0.88 | -6.5 | -21.9 |
Government Administration | 1.08 | ··· | 0.94 | 1.02 | 1.08 | 1.09 | +0.4 | +0.6 |
Holding Companies | 0.90 | ··· | 0.69 | 0.69 | 0.72 | 0.69 | -4.7 | -24 |
Hospitals and Health Care | 1.13 | ··· | 1.05 | 1.03 | 1.07 | 1.04 | -2.3 | -7.3 |
Manufacturing | 0.99 | ··· | 0.86 | 0.87 | 0.91 | 0.83 | -8.8 | -16.1 |
Oil, Gas, and Mining | 0.98 | ··· | 0.86 | 0.86 | 0.87 | 0.88 | +0.5 | -10.6 |
Professional Services | 0.99 | ··· | 0.82 | 0.83 | 0.84 | 0.84 | -0.4 | -15.1 |
Real Estate and Equipment Rental Services | 1.05 | ··· | 0.94 | 0.94 | 0.95 | 0.97 | +1.7 | -7.9 |
Retail | 0.88 | ··· | 0.72 | 0.74 | 0.75 | 0.75 | -0.4 | -14.5 |
Technology, Information and Media | 0.97 | ··· | 0.73 | 0.77 | 0.81 | 0.75 | -6.7 | -22.6 |
Transportation, Logistics, Supply Chain and Storage | 1.23 | ··· | 1.03 | 1.03 | 1.00 | 0.96 | -4.6 | -22.4 |
Utilities | 1.31 | ··· | 1.15 | 1.15 | 1.16 | 1.06 | -8.4 | -19.1 |
Wholesale | 0.99 | ··· | 0.74 | 0.84 | 0.86 | 0.85 | -1.6 | -14.6 |
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 College Station-Bryan, TX; Urbana-Champaign, IL; and Gainesville, FL. For every 10,000 LinkedIn members in College Station-Bryan, TX, 116 left in the past 12 months.
The U.S. cities gaining the most people are North Port-Sarasota, FL; Tampa Bay, FL; and Jacksonville, FL. For every 10,000 LinkedIn members in North Port-Sarasota, FL, 99 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.
