LinkedIn Workforce Report | United States | May 2017

Published on May 2, 2017

Over 138 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 50,000 skills to their profiles to showcase their professional brands. That gives us unique and valuable insight into U.S. workforce trends.

The 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, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C.

Our vision is to create economic opportunity for every worker in the global workforce. We hope you'll use insights from our report to better navigate your career - whether you're unemployed and wondering if hiring is improving in your industry, exploring new skills to learn to make yourself more attractive to employers, or considering a move and curious which cities need your skills most.

Key Insights

April was the strongest month for hiring since June 2015 – After a slow start early in March, hiring picked up and that momentum carried into April. Hiring across the U.S. was 16.7% higher in April than April 2016. And seasonally-adjusted hiring (hiring that excludes seasonal hiring variations – like companies hiring less in December due to the holiday season) was 3.4% higher in April than March. April was the strongest month for hiring since June 2015. Despite this, seasonally-adjusted hiring was down in April compared to March in 10 of the 13 industries we track. So the increase in seasonally-adjusted hiring was fueled by just three industries - manufacturing/industrial (up 0.5%), aerospace/automotive/transport (up 1.3%), and software (up 8.5%). There's no reason to worry now since it's just one month's worth of data, but it's something we're keeping an eye on. If you're looking for a new gig, check out LinkedIn Jobs!
Growing cities attract national and international talent, while declining cities attract regional talent – Cities that are gaining the most workers - like Seattle and Denver - primarily attract talent from across the U.S. and internationally. In contrast, cities that are losing the most workers overall - like Chicago and St. Louis - primarily attract workers from nearby towns. That presents a problem for cities like Chicago; cities need the best and brightest to strengthen their economies, and top performers want to work with other top performers and top companies. So it may become increasingly challenging for cities that are losing workers to attract top talent. Wondering if your city attracts national or regional workers? Check out your city's City Report to find out!
Demand for manufacturing skills is strong along the coasts; not the Midwest – Demand for manufacturing skills is strong, but not in the Midwestern cities considered the hotbed for American factory jobs. For example, there's an abundance of workers skilled in lean manufacturing and quality management in Cleveland, Detroit, and Minneapolis. But there's a scarcity of workers with those skills in faster-growing coastal (and one inland) cities - like Washington, D.C., the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, and Denver. So manufacturing workers who are having a hard time finding a gig in Cleveland, Detroit and Minneapolis may want to consider looking for jobs on the coasts, and employers hiring for lean manufacturing and quality management skills on the coast should consider recruiting from the Midwest.

April was the strongest month for hiring since June 2015

After a slow start early in March, hiring picked up and carried into April, which was the strongest month for hiring since June 2015. Hiring across the U.S. was 16.7% higher in April than April 2016.

And seasonally-adjusted hiring (hiring that excludes seasonal hiring variations - like companies hiring less in December due to the holiday season) was 3.4% higher in April than March.

Of note, hiring was higher year-over-year in all 20 U.S. cities we track, and seasonally-adjusted hiring was up month-over-month in 16 cities. But seasonally-adjusted hiring was down in April compared to March in 10 of the 13 industries we track. So the increase in seasonally-adjusted hiring was fueled by just three industries. There's no reason to worry now since it's just one month's worth of data, but it's something we're keeping an eye on.

Industry Hiring

Hiring in the oil and energy industry was 30.0% higher in April than April 2016. But it's not the only industry where hiring was up year-over-year - hiring in the aerospace/automotive/transport (20.3%), software (15.7%), and manufacturing/industrial (12.7%) industries was up as well. In contrast, hiring in the telecommunications industry was flat (0.0%) in April compared to April 2016. It's the only industry where hiring hasn't increased year-over-year.

Seasonally-adjusted hiring was down in April compared to March in 10 of the 13 industries we track. But hiring was up in the manufacturing/industrial (0.5%), aerospace/automotive/transport (1.3%), and software (8.5%) industries.

Growing cities attract national and international talent, while declining cities attract regional talent

Cities that are gaining workers tend to have stronger economies than cities that are losing workers. We noticed that the cities that are gaining the most workers primarily attract talent from across the U.S. and internationally. For example, Seattle - where hiring was 17.9% higher in April than April 2016 - gains workers from New York, Los Angeles, Bangalore, and London.

In contrast, cities that are losing the most workers primarily attract workers from nearby towns. For example, Chicago gains the most workers from Urbana-Champaign, Bloomington-Normal, and Peoria. That presents a problem for cities like Chicago; cities need the best and brightest to strengthen their economies, and top performers want to work with other top performers and top companies. So it may become increasingly challenging for cities that are losing workers to attract top talent. Wondering if your city attracts national or regional workers? Check out your city's City Report to find out!

Austin, Orange County, and San Diego remained atop the list of cities that experience the most total migration (workers moving into and out of a city) in April. For every 10,000 LinkedIn members in Austin, 571.1 arrived in or left the city in the last 12 months.

Check out the city reports for Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland-Akron, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Nashville, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. to learn more.

Demand for manufacturing skills is strong along the coasts; not the Midwest

A skills gap is a mismatch between the skills employers need (demand) and the skills workers have (supply). There is an abundance of skills when supply exceeds demand. There is a scarcity of skills when demand exceeds supply. A city with a scarcity of skills needs more workers with certain skills, while a city with an abundance of skills has too many workers with certain skills.

A skills gap is good news for jobseekers when it's caused by a scarcity of skills, and bad news when it's caused by an abundance of skills.

Demand for manufacturing skills is strong, but not in the Midwestern cities that were once the hotbed of American factory jobs. For example, there's an abundance of workers skilled in lean manufacturing and quality management in Cleveland, Detroit, and Minneapolis. But there's a scarcity of workers with those skills in faster-growing coastal (and one inland) cities - like Washington, D.C., the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, and Denver. Why is demand strong in these cities? Because booming cities need all kinds of skills; not just the ones they've needed in the past.

So manufacturing workers who are having a hard time finding a gig in Cleveland, Detroit and Minneapolis may want to consider looking for jobs on the coasts, and employers hiring for lean manufacturing and quality management skills on the coast should consider recruiting from the Midwest.

The San Francisco Bay Area, Austin, and Washington, D.C. have the greatest scarcity of skills, primarily service-industry skills. For more information, check out their City Reports.

The cities with the greatest abundance of skills are West Palm Beach, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, and Houston.