LinkedIn Workforce Report | United States | January 2025
With over 225 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 2024.
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 stabilized to end 2024: Nationally, across all industries, hiring accelerated by 4.9% from November to December, slowing -5.1% compared to December 2023. Overall, hiring slowed only 3% from January to December in 2024, a marked change from 2023 when hiring slowed 12% from January to December. Though hiring slowed over the course of the year, we saw significant moderation in the slowdown.
- Broad industry hiring gains in December: Hiring increased in 18 out 20 industries from November to December. The industries with the strongest month-over-month performance in December were Technology, Information and Media (+11.7%), Wholesale (+8.5%), and Financial Services (+7%). Hiring slowed in Consumer Services (-0.7%) and Farming, Ranching, Forestry (-6.1%). However, hiring remains down compared to December 2023 in every industry except for Technology, Information, and Media (+4.9%) and Financial Services (+3.9%).
Hiring gains across nearly all major metros: Hiring accelerated in 19 out of 20 metro areas we track from November to December. We saw the greatest hiring gains in Denver (+9.3%), Atlanta (+8.1%), and Washington, D.C. (+7%). In Philadelphia, hiring slowed (-0.7%). While we’re seeing a possible uptick from month over month gains, San Francisco Bay Area is the only metro in December where hiring was not down (+0.3%) compared to one year prior.
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% higher in December 2024 compared to last month November 2024. National hiring was 5.1% lower in December 2024 compared to last year December 2023.
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED HIRING
The industries with the most notable hiring shifts month-to-month in December 2024 were Technology, Information and Media (11.7% higher); Wholesale (8.5% higher); and Financial Services (7% higher).
Table 1: Hiring on LinkedIn, by Industry, through December 2024
Industry | Dec-23 | ··· | Sep-24 | Oct-24 | Nov-24 | Dec-24 | MoM% Change | YoY% Change |
Accommodation and Food Services | 1.00 | ··· | 0.92 | 0.87 | 0.91 | 0.96 | +5.3 | -4 |
Administrative and Support Services | 0.97 | ··· | 0.83 | 0.78 | 0.85 | 0.90 | +5.3 | -7.7 |
Construction | 1.30 | ··· | 1.15 | 1.12 | 1.15 | 1.20 | +4.3 | -7.3 |
Consumer Services | 1.20 | ··· | 1.17 | 1.14 | 1.15 | 1.14 | -0.7 | -5.3 |
Education | 1.19 | ··· | 1.16 | 1.14 | 1.11 | 1.14 | +2.4 | -4.1 |
Entertainment Providers | 0.96 | ··· | 0.90 | 0.88 | 0.87 | 0.88 | +0.8 | -8.3 |
Farming, Ranching, Forestry | 1.17 | ··· | 0.98 | 0.96 | 0.98 | 0.92 | -6.1 | -21.6 |
Financial Services | 0.98 | ··· | 0.99 | 0.98 | 0.95 | 1.02 | +7 | +3.9 |
Government Administration | 1.19 | ··· | 1.06 | 1.03 | 1.02 | 1.05 | +2.5 | -11.6 |
Holding Companies | 0.84 | ··· | 0.72 | 0.73 | 0.72 | 0.74 | +2.1 | -12.4 |
Hospitals and Health Care | 1.17 | ··· | 1.08 | 1.07 | 1.07 | 1.09 | +1.7 | -7.2 |
Manufacturing | 1.01 | ··· | 0.86 | 0.83 | 0.83 | 0.86 | +3.7 | -15.2 |
Oil, Gas, and Mining | 0.95 | ··· | 0.87 | 0.85 | 0.81 | 0.85 | +5.8 | -10.4 |
Professional Services | 0.92 | ··· | 0.87 | 0.86 | 0.86 | 0.89 | +3.9 | -3.1 |
Real Estate and Equipment Rental Services | 1.07 | ··· | 0.94 | 0.89 | 0.95 | 0.98 | +3.6 | -8.1 |
Retail | 0.89 | ··· | 0.80 | 0.79 | 0.82 | 0.83 | +1.7 | -5.9 |
Technology, Information and Media | 0.88 | ··· | 0.85 | 0.84 | 0.82 | 0.92 | +11.7 | +4.9 |
Transportation, Logistics, Supply Chain and Storage | 1.10 | ··· | 1.02 | 0.97 | 0.99 | 1.03 | +4.5 | -6.3 |
Utilities | 1.28 | ··· | 1.14 | 1.11 | 1.09 | 1.14 | +4.3 | -10.8 |
Wholesale | 0.98 | ··· | 0.82 | 0.76 | 0.82 | 0.89 | +8.5 | -8.7 |
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.
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.
