LinkedIn Workforce Report | United States | November 2021
Over 180 million workers in the U.S. have LinkedIn profiles; over 97,000 companies in the U.S. use LinkedIn to recruit and members can add over 38,000 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 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
- Hiring slowing down from spring surge: Nationally, across all industries, hiring in the U.S. was 1.6% lower in October 2021 compared to last month. National hiring was 23.4% higher in October 2021 compared to October 2020. Compared to pre-COVID levels in February 2020, national hiring is still down 1.2%. Despite slowdowns, hiring remains stronger than expected given still-elevated unemployment, indicating the Great Reshuffle remains in effect.
- Agriculture, Education, and Public Safety see biggest monthly gains: The industries with the most notable hiring shifts month-to-month in October were Agriculture (13% higher), Education (8% higher), and Public Safety (7.4% higher). The industries hiring at the strongest levels compared to pre-COVID are Recreation & Travel (41.1% higher), Software & IT (22.7% higher), and Corporate Services (17.4% higher). The unusual mix of industries significantly exceeding pre-COVID hiring levels are a barometer of how uneven this recovery looks given factors like remote work surging in Software & IT, high turnover in Recreation & Travel, and supply chain issues impacting Transportation & Logistics.
- Hiring recovery starting to reach coastal cities: 15 of the 20 metro areas we track closely had hiring above pre-COVID levels. Philadelphia and Phoenix experienced their strongest hiring month of the recovery to-date. Compared to pre-COVID levels, southern cities are still leading the way with Austin (14.9% higher), Houston (9.4% higher) and Miami (9.4% higher) all hiring well above their February 2020 levels.
Hiring
The LinkedIn hiring rate is a measure of hires divided by LinkedIn membership. Nationally, across all industries, hiring in the U.S. was 1.6% lower in October compared to last month September 2021. National hiring was 23.4% higher in October compared to last year October 2020.
The industries with the most notable hiring shifts month-to-month in October were Agriculture (13% higher); Education (8% higher); and Public Safety (7.4% higher).
Table 1: Hiring on LinkedIn, by Industry, through October 2021
Industry | Oct-20 | ··· | Jul-21 | Aug-21 | Sep-21 | Oct-21 | MoM% Change | YoY% Change |
Agriculture | 1.09 | ··· | 1.23 | 1.21 | 1.14 | 1.28 | +13 | +17.9 |
Arts | 0.67 | ··· | 0.76 | 0.80 | 0.86 | 0.84 | -1.8 | +25 |
Construction | 1.07 | ··· | 1.12 | 1.19 | 1.18 | 1.19 | +1 | +11.6 |
Consumer Goods | 0.92 | ··· | 1.10 | 1.12 | 1.12 | 1.13 | +0.5 | +22.4 |
Corporate Services | 1.04 | ··· | 1.20 | 1.32 | 1.30 | 1.36 | +4.2 | +30.4 |
Design | 0.76 | ··· | 0.96 | 0.99 | 1.01 | 1.03 | +1.9 | +35.8 |
Education | 0.94 | ··· | 1.01 | 1.02 | 1.08 | 1.16 | +8 | +24.3 |
Energy & Mining | 0.85 | ··· | 0.98 | 1.03 | 1.04 | 1.09 | +4.6 | +28.5 |
Entertainment | 0.67 | ··· | 0.99 | 1.01 | 1.02 | 1.03 | +1 | +53.1 |
Finance | 1.12 | ··· | 1.16 | 1.26 | 1.29 | 1.34 | +3.7 | +19.4 |
Hardware & Networking | 0.78 | ··· | 0.99 | 1.05 | 1.03 | 1.00 | -2.2 | +29.1 |
Health Care | 1.13 | ··· | 1.24 | 1.29 | 1.31 | 1.30 | -0.8 | +14.6 |
Legal | 0.92 | ··· | 1.08 | 1.18 | 1.08 | 1.04 | -3.4 | +13.4 |
Manufacturing | 0.98 | ··· | 1.13 | 1.19 | 1.18 | 1.20 | +1.5 | +21.4 |
Media & Communications | 0.82 | ··· | 1.05 | 1.09 | 1.06 | 1.07 | +0.6 | +30.8 |
Nonprofit | 0.95 | ··· | 1.08 | 1.09 | 1.10 | 1.11 | +0.7 | +16.9 |
Public Administration | 1.06 | ··· | 1.02 | 1.08 | 1.10 | 1.14 | +3.6 | +7.2 |
Public Safety | 1.03 | ··· | 1.02 | 1.06 | 0.97 | 1.04 | +7.4 | +0.9 |
Real Estate | 1.27 | ··· | 1.24 | 1.29 | 1.28 | 1.27 | -1.1 | -0.7 |
Recreation & Travel | 0.66 | ··· | 1.20 | 1.15 | 1.15 | 1.18 | +2.5 | +78 |
Retail | 0.99 | ··· | 1.03 | 1.05 | 1.07 | 1.05 | -1.3 | +6.6 |
Software & IT Services | 1.06 | ··· | 1.38 | 1.48 | 1.51 | 1.53 | +1.1 | +43.8 |
Transportation & Logistics | 1.24 | ··· | 1.35 | 1.47 | 1.41 | 1.38 | -1.9 | +11.3 |
Wellness & Fitness | 1.22 | ··· | 1.28 | 1.31 | 1.28 | 1.30 | +1.2 | +6.4 |
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 State College-DuBois, PA; College Station-Bryan, TX; and Tuscaloosa, AL. For every 10,000 LinkedIn members in State College-DuBois, PA, 236 left in the past 12 months.
The U.S. cities gaining the most people are Austin, TX; North Port-Sarasota, FL; and Nashville, TN. For every 10,000 LinkedIn members in Austin, TX, 150 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.
