LinkedIn Workforce Report | United States | January 2020
Over 165 million workers in the U.S. have LinkedIn profiles; over 20,000 companies in the U.S. use LinkedIn to recruit; over 3 million jobs are posted on LinkedIn in the U.S. every month; and members can add over 35,000 skills to their profiles to showcase their professional brands. That gives us unique and valuable insight into U.S. workforce trends.
This LinkedIn Workforce Report is a monthly report on employment trends in the U.S. workforce. It’s divided into two sections: a National section that provides insights into hiring, skills gaps, and migration trends across the country, and a City section that provides insights into localized employment trends in 20 of the largest U.S. metro areas: 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
Gross hiring in the U.S. was 9.3% higher than in December 2018, and seasonally-adjusted national hiring was 1.5% higher in December from November 2019.
Industries with notable hiring gains month-to-month in December include: Public Administration (4.3% higher); Finance (4.1% higher); Corporate Services (3.9% higher); and Retail (3.4% higher). Agriculture posted a notable dip in hiring, down 2.5% y/y and 3.6% m/m.
The cities that gained the most workers in December include: Austin, TX; Nashville, TN; and Charlotte, NC.
- LinkedIn Editor George Anders took a closer look at 12 cities where average hiring rates have climbed by at least 6.5% from last year. Learn more about what those cities are doing to attract companies and talent here.
Hiring
The LinkedIn hiring rate is a measure of hires divided by LinkedIn membership. Nationally, across all industries, hiring in the U.S. was 9.3% higher than in December 2018. National hiring was 1.5% higher in December from November 2019.
The industries with the most notable hiring shifts month-to-month in December were Arts (8.3% higher m/m); Public Administration (4.3% higher m/m); and Finance (4.1% higher m/m).
Table 1: Hiring on LinkedIn, by Industry, through December 2019
| Industry | Dec-18 | … | Sep-19 | Oct-19 | Nov-19 | Dec-19 | MoM% Change | YoY% Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | 1.21 | … | 1.19 | 1.23 | 1.23 | 1.18 | -3.6 | -2.5 |
| Arts | 0.81 | … | 0.89 | 0.90 | 1.02 | 1.10 | +8.3 | +35.6 |
| Construction | 1.13 | … | 1.18 | 1.18 | 1.18 | 1.20 | +1.8 | +6.4 |
| Consumer Goods | 0.99 | … | 1.05 | 1.05 | 1.03 | 1.06 | +3.2 | +7.6 |
| Corporate Services | 1.01 | … | 1.14 | 1.14 | 1.20 | 1.24 | +3.9 | +22.7 |
| Design | 0.91 | … | 0.94 | 0.94 | 1.24 | 1.24 | +0.5 | +37.2 |
| Education | 1.01 | … | 1.08 | 1.09 | 1.10 | 1.12 | +1.4 | +10.1 |
| Energy & Mining | 1.17 | … | 1.13 | 1.12 | 1.13 | 1.16 | +2.8 | +-0.8 |
| Entertainment | 0.89 | … | 0.95 | 0.97 | 1.00 | 1.01 | +1.3 | +14.1 |
| Finance | 1.03 | … | 1.15 | 1.12 | 1.13 | 1.18 | +4.1 | +14.9 |
| Hardware & Networking | 0.87 | … | 0.94 | 0.90 | 0.96 | 0.99 | +2.9 | +13.7 |
| Health Care | 1.00 | … | 1.10 | 1.08 | 1.09 | 1.10 | +1 | +10.2 |
| Legal | 0.96 | … | 1.03 | 1.02 | 1.04 | 1.06 | +1.9 | +10.2 |
| Manufacturing | 1.04 | … | 1.12 | 1.11 | 1.12 | 1.12 | 0 | 7.2 |
| Media & Communications | 0.89 | … | 0.93 | 0.93 | 1.15 | 1.16 | +1 | +30.9 |
| Nonprofit | 0.96 | … | 1.02 | 1.04 | 1.00 | 1.02 | +1.9 | +5.9 |
| Public Administration | 1.00 | … | 1.10 | 1.12 | 1.08 | 1.12 | +4.3 | +12.8 |
| Public Safety | 1.00 | … | 1.10 | 1.08 | 1.12 | 1.15 | +2 | +14.3 |
| Real Estate | 1.17 | … | 1.25 | 1.24 | 1.21 | 1.23 | +2 | +5.3 |
| Recreation & Travel | 1.07 | … | 1.13 | 1.13 | 1.13 | 1.15 | +1.5 | +7.6 |
| Retail | 0.97 | … | 1.03 | 1.02 | 0.98 | 1.01 | +3.4 | +3.9 |
| Software & IT Services | 1.08 | … | 1.21 | 1.19 | 1.20 | 1.22 | +2.3 | +13.3 |
| Transportation & Logistics | 1.14 | … | 1.20 | 1.20 | 1.23 | 1.23 | +0.4 | +8.5 |
| Wellness & Fitness | 1.06 | … | 1.15 | 1.17 | 1.16 | 1.17 | +0.5 | +9.6 |
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 2015-2016 for each industry; for example, an index of 1.05 indicates a hiring rate that is 5% higher than the average month in 2015-2016.
Migration
The U.S. cities losing the most people are Bryan-College Station, TX; State College, PA; and Bloomington, IN. For every 10,000 LinkedIn members in Bryan-College Station, TX, 258 left in the past 12 months.
The U.S. cities gaining the most people are Austin, TX; Nashville, TN; and Charlotte, NC. For every 10,000 LinkedIn members in Austin, TX, 145 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 skills are in shortage in those cities, and which jobs are open
