LinkedIn Workforce Report | United States | March 2023
With over 199 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 February 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
- Largest hiring declines seen since April 2020: Nationally, across all industries, hiring decreased 6.5% in February compared to January. This is the largest month-over-month decrease we’ve seen since April 2020, though we don’t expect declines of this magnitude to occur on a regular basis going forward. Year-over-year hiring decreased 27.9% - and hiring has now declined for 10 consecutive months. Additionally, our Workforce Confidence Index data from February showed worker confidence in finding and holding a job declined to its lowest level since 2021, consistent with the decline we’re currently seeing in the LinkedIn Hiring Rate.
Hiring in Government Administration, Consumer Services, Education continue to show resilience: Hiring increased month-over-month in 4 of 20 industries – this is a decrease from the 9 industries that saw hiring gains in January. The industries which saw the biggest month-over-month gains were in Real Estate (+3.7%), Education (+2.1%), and Accommodation (+1.3%). The biggest month-over-month declines were in Manufacturing (-10.7%), Technology, Information and Media (-9.6%), and Construction (-9.2%). Since the hiring slowdowns that began last Spring – April 2022 – the industries that have continued to show the most resilience are Government Administration (-10.1%), Consumer Services (-11.5%), Education (-12.8%). Education was the only industry where hiring remains above pre-pandemic levels. And the Technology, Information and Media industry continues to see declines – with hiring in the sector now just 3.8% above its pandemic low in May 2020.
- Hiring across all metros below pre-pandemic levels: Hiring increased month-over-month in 4 of 20 metro areas we track; this is a decline from the seven metros that saw gains in January. While we saw hiring increases month-over-month in select cities, none of the metros had hiring above pre-pandemic levels. The largest month-over-months gains were seen in St. Louis (+3.0%), Los Angeles (+1.7%), and Chicago (+1.7%). The largest declines were in Minneapolis (-14.0%), Austin (-11.5%), and Detroit (-9.3%). Since the Spring 2022 declines, three metros that have continued to hold up the best have been Miami (-20.6%), St. Louis (-21.3%), and Dallas (-22.2%). And the metros that have shown the weakest growth since that time frame are Minneapolis (-34.0%), Seattle (-33.5%), and the San Francisco Bay Area (-33.0%). Seattle and San Francisco are not necessarily surprises in this list given the drop off we’ve seen in hiring across the Technology, Information and Media sector.
Hiring
The LinkedIn hiring rate is a measure of hires divided by LinkedIn membership. Nationally, across all industries, hiring in the U.S. was 6.5% lower in February 2023 compared to last month January 2023. National hiring was 27.9% lower in February 2023 compared to last year February 2022.
The industries with the most notable hiring shifts month-to-month in February 2023 were Real Estate and Equipment Rental Services (3.7% higher); Education (2.1% higher); and Accommodation (1.3% higher).
Table 1: Hiring on LinkedIn, by Industry, through February 2023
Industry | Feb-22 | ··· | Nov-22 | Dec-22 | Jan-23 | Feb-23 | MoM% Change | YoY% Change |
Accommodation | 1.09 | ··· | 0.99 | 1.00 | 0.98 | 1.00 | +1.3 | -9 |
Administrative and Support Services | 1.27 | ··· | 1.07 | 1.04 | 1.00 | 0.98 | -2.5 | -23.1 |
Construction | 1.30 | ··· | 1.14 | 1.14 | 1.18 | 1.07 | -9.2 | -18 |
Consumer Services | 1.20 | ··· | 1.10 | 1.09 | 1.09 | 1.10 | +1 | -8.4 |
Education | 1.31 | ··· | 1.19 | 1.17 | 1.15 | 1.18 | +2.1 | -9.9 |
Entertainment Providers | 1.17 | ··· | 0.91 | 0.92 | 0.92 | 0.90 | -2.2 | -23.3 |
Farming, Ranching, Forestry | 1.46 | ··· | 1.20 | 1.23 | 1.14 | 1.06 | -7.1 | -27.2 |
Financial Services | 1.39 | ··· | 1.13 | 1.12 | 1.13 | 1.04 | -8.1 | -25.3 |
Government Administration | 1.12 | ··· | 1.08 | 1.12 | 1.14 | 1.07 | -5.5 | -3.9 |
Holding Companies | 1.26 | ··· | 0.90 | 0.91 | 0.93 | 0.88 | -6.3 | -30.5 |
Hospitals and Health Care | 1.27 | ··· | 1.13 | 1.13 | 1.16 | 1.10 | -4.8 | -13.6 |
Manufacturing | 1.20 | ··· | 0.99 | 0.98 | 0.99 | 0.89 | -10.7 | -26.3 |
Oil, Gas, and Mining | 1.09 | ··· | 0.98 | 0.97 | 0.98 | 0.90 | -7.9 | -17.5 |
Professional Services | 1.32 | ··· | 0.99 | 0.97 | 0.94 | 0.91 | -2.7 | -31.1 |
Real Estate and Equipment Rental Services | 1.30 | ··· | 1.05 | 1.08 | 0.97 | 1.01 | +3.7 | -22.5 |
Retail | 1.11 | ··· | 0.88 | 0.96 | 0.87 | 0.85 | -1.2 | -23.1 |
Technology, Information and Media | 1.52 | ··· | 0.97 | 0.91 | 0.90 | 0.81 | -9.6 | -46.8 |
Transportation, Logistics, Supply Chain and Storage | 1.39 | ··· | 1.23 | 1.19 | 1.15 | 1.09 | -5.1 | -21.9 |
Utilities | 1.42 | ··· | 1.31 | 1.32 | 1.30 | 1.19 | -8 | -16.1 |
Wholesale | 1.14 | ··· | 0.99 | 0.96 | 0.87 | 0.86 | -1.1 | -24.1 |
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; College Station-Bryan, TX; and Tallahassee, FL. For every 10,000 LinkedIn members in Wenatchee, WA, 931 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, 138 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.
