LinkedIn Workforce Report | United States | October 2021
Over 176 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 continues to rise but at a slower rate: Nationally, across all industries, hiring in the U.S. was 2.2% higher in September 2021 compared to last month. National hiring was 32.3% higher in September 2021 compared to September 2020. Overall, hiring has wavered between slight increases and decreases since early spring, but no clear sign yet of further breakthroughs to surpass pre-pandemic hiring rates.
- Industry Hiring Reaches a New High: The industries with the most notable hiring shifts month-to-month in September were Arts (6.6% higher); Education (4.8% higher); and Consumer Goods (3.4% higher). Also important to note, with September hiring trends, these industries hit their highest hiring levels since the start of the pandemic. Out of the 24 industries we track, over half (14) saw hiring gains above their pre-COVID levels -- a continuation of a trend we saw begin last month.
- Hiring Gains are Widespread: Sixteen of the 20 metro areas we track surpassed their pre-COVID hiring levels, the highest share of recovery we’ve seen to date. These metro areas hit their highest hiring level since the start of the pandemic: Seattle, Philadelphia, Detroit and Dallas. The cities with the most notable hiring shifts month-to-month in September were Seattle (4.5% higher); Boston (3.9% higher); and Washington, D.C. (2.5% higher).
Hiring
The LinkedIn hiring rate is a measure of hires divided by LinkedIn membership. Nationally, across all industries, hiring in the U.S. was 2.2% higher in September compared to last month August 2021. National hiring was 32.3% higher in September compared to last year September 2020.
The industries with the most notable hiring shifts month-to-month in September were Arts (6.6% higher); Education (4.8% higher); and Consumer Goods (3.4% higher).
Table 1: Hiring on LinkedIn, by Industry, through September 2021
Industry | Sep-20 | ··· | Jun-21 | Jul-21 | Aug-21 | Sep-21 | MoM% Change | YoY% Change |
Agriculture | 1.14 | ··· | 1.23 | 1.23 | 1.21 | 1.09 | -10.3 | -4.1 |
Arts | 0.54 | ··· | 0.70 | 0.76 | 0.80 | 0.85 | +6.6 | +56.1 |
Construction | 1.07 | ··· | 1.28 | 1.12 | 1.19 | 1.17 | -0.9 | +9.3 |
Consumer Goods | 0.87 | ··· | 1.11 | 1.10 | 1.12 | 1.16 | +3.4 | +32.5 |
Corporate Services | 1.00 | ··· | 1.21 | 1.20 | 1.32 | 1.31 | -1 | +31.8 |
Design | 0.73 | ··· | 1.02 | 0.96 | 0.99 | 0.99 | -0.7 | +35.1 |
Education | 0.87 | ··· | 1.10 | 1.01 | 1.02 | 1.07 | +4.8 | +22.7 |
Energy & Mining | 0.85 | ··· | 1.02 | 0.98 | 1.03 | 1.02 | -0.7 | +20.5 |
Entertainment | 0.61 | ··· | 0.96 | 0.99 | 1.01 | 1.03 | +1.7 | +67.7 |
Finance | 1.03 | ··· | 1.26 | 1.16 | 1.26 | 1.27 | +0.7 | +23.1 |
Hardware & Networking | 0.77 | ··· | 0.96 | 0.99 | 1.05 | 1.04 | -1.4 | +34.5 |
Health Care | 1.05 | ··· | 1.39 | 1.24 | 1.29 | 1.30 | +1.4 | +24.2 |
Legal | 0.74 | ··· | 1.28 | 1.08 | 1.18 | 1.16 | -1.6 | +57 |
Manufacturing | 1.00 | ··· | 1.20 | 1.13 | 1.19 | 1.17 | -2.1 | +16.8 |
Media & Communications | 0.76 | ··· | 1.04 | 1.05 | 1.09 | 1.10 | +1.4 | +45.5 |
Nonprofit | 0.89 | ··· | 1.08 | 1.08 | 1.09 | 1.10 | +0.7 | +23.5 |
Public Administration | 1.07 | ··· | 1.07 | 1.02 | 1.08 | 1.09 | +1.3 | +2.3 |
Public Safety | 1.00 | ··· | 1.07 | 1.02 | 1.06 | 0.97 | -8.3 | -2.6 |
Real Estate | 1.23 | ··· | 1.37 | 1.24 | 1.29 | 1.27 | -1.4 | +3.3 |
Recreation & Travel | 0.64 | ··· | 1.09 | 1.20 | 1.15 | 1.16 | +1 | +80.2 |
Retail | 0.94 | ··· | 1.11 | 1.03 | 1.05 | 1.08 | +3 | +14.9 |
Software & IT Services | 1.01 | ··· | 1.38 | 1.38 | 1.48 | 1.52 | +3 | +50.4 |
Transportation & Logistics | 1.15 | ··· | 1.48 | 1.35 | 1.47 | 1.38 | -5.6 | +20.2 |
Wellness & Fitness | 1.18 | ··· | 1.36 | 1.28 | 1.31 | 1.29 | -1.3 | +9 |
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, 244 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, 149 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.
