United States
Understanding career confidence in the United States
Workforce Confidence Index
The Workforce Confidence Index is a biweekly survey of LinkedIn members that measures how they feel about the job market, their financial statuses, and advancing their careers. This survey allows us to build solutions that create economic opportunity for all.
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United States | May 2023
Nationally, across all industries, hiring decreased by 0.1% in April compared to March and is down 29.0% year-over-year. While hiring declines are ongoing, they seem to be moderating, and we could start to see year-over-year comparisons start to improve within the next few months.
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United States | April 2023
Nationally, across all industries, hiring decreased 0.6% in March compared to February and is down 28.2% year-over-year. The 0.6% decrease is the smallest decline we’ve seen in hiring in the past 11 months. While hiring declines may be gradually moderating, they are continuing to add to the ongoing slowdown: since hiring began to decline in April 2022, hiring has now declined by 29.2%. Additionally, our Workforce Confidence Survey indicates that our US members’ confidence about holding or finding a job has also declined since April 2022, but saw a slight uptick in March after hitting a two-year low in February.
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United States | March 2023
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.
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United States | February 2023
Nationally, across all industries, hiring decreased by a modest 0.7% in January compared to December. Hiring is also down 23.0% year-over-year. Additionally, we’ve seen a 25.6% year-over-year decrease in hiring since April 2022, where more than half of that decline happened between April through July 2022.
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United States | January 2023
Nationally, across all industries, hiring increased by 1.1% in December compared to November, the first monthly increase since August. However, hiring is down 10.3% year-over-year and down 9.4% from pre-COVID levels (February 2020). As we progress further into 2023 and economic uncertainty persists, it’s likely we’ll continue to see a slow glide downward in overall hiring levels, mimicking declines we saw throughout the first half of 2022. More specifically, since June we’ve averaged a decline of ~0.6% per month.
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United States | December 2022
Nationally, across all industries, hiring fell by 4.9% in November compared to October and is 20.5% lower compared to November 2021. Hiring is now also 11.8% below pre-COVID hiring levels (February 2020). After a big decline in the Spring, we saw hiring level out during the Summer, but it appears we are seeing the U.S. labor market beginning to slow in a more meaningful way.
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United States | November 2022
Nationally, across all industries, hiring in the U.S. was 0.5% lower in October and 10.6% lower compared to October 2021. Hiring is also continuing to creep down below pre-COVID hiring levels (February 2020), which now sits 7.6% lower. While we saw a slight decline this month, we’re still just 1.9% below the hiring level from the late Spring declines – which was the last time we saw a meaningful downturn this year. The slight drop in October hiring does not signal the onset of a recession but instead gradual steps downward.
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United States | October 2022
Nationally, across all industries, hiring in the U.S. was 8.9% lower in September compared to August and 12.7% lower compared to September 2021. Hiring is also 7.1% below pre-COVID hiring levels (February 2020). Hiring cooled meaningfully in late Spring, and there may be more cooling coming later this year. However, September's hiring decline is more of a reversal of the gains we saw in August versus viewing the latest declines as a clear continued downturn for the U.S. labor market.
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United States | September 2022
Nationally, across all industries, hiring in the U.S. was 6.5% higher in August compared to July – the first monthly increase we’ve seen since April. While hiring hasn’t returned back to the elevated levels experienced in early spring, it’s likely we’re starting to see a leveling out in the near term. More specifically, hiring is still 8.5% below where it was in April; however, with this month’s increase, hiring is now slightly above pre-COVID levels – 0.2% above February 2020.
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United States | August 2022
Nationally, across all industries, hiring in the U.S. was 1.5% lower in July compared to June. Additionally, hiring was 8.3% lower in July 2022 compared to July 2021. Hiring now sits at 7.2% below its pre-COVID level and 2.3% below its average level in the two years prior to the pandemic (February 2018 to February 2020). National hiring is now the lowest it has been since the first quarter of 2021.
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United States | July 2022
Nationally, across all industries, hiring fell 5.4% in June compared to May, suggesting that tighter financial conditions and softening demand might finally be hitting the US labor market. In June, hiring was its lowest level since December 2021. We saw an 11.9% year-over-year hiring decline, and while it’s attention-grabbing, it’s probably an overly gloomy signal - June 2021 was an unusually strong month, with the best hiring we have on record.
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United States | June 2022
Despite some of the latest headlines, U.S. hiring remains extremely strong and shows no signs of weakening. Nationally, across all industries, hiring in the U.S. was 0.4% higher in May compared to April. In a year-over-year comparison, national hiring was 9.8% higher in May 2022 versus last May. And hiring remains 10% above pre-COVID February 2020 levels. And in the tech sector, hiring rose by 2.1% in May compared to April, though it has been flat since the beginning of the year. While largely flat, this industry has seen massive hiring gains overall; hiring in tech has increased 17.5% year over year, and is 23.5% above pre-COVID levels.
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Unites States | May 2022
Nationally, across all industries, hiring in the U.S. was 0.1% lower in April compared to March. However, national hiring was 1.9% higher in April 2022 compared to last April. While hiring has somewhat plateaued since last spring, it still remains at an extremely high level by historical standards. For example, hiring in April was 6.4% above pre-COVID hiring levels, demonstrating the continued strong hiring market for today’s job seekers.
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United States | April 2022
Nationally, across all industries, hiring in the U.S. was 3% higher in March 2022 compared to last month. National hiring was 1.7% higher in March 2022 compared to March 2021. While the rate of hiring is beginning to slow, it’s still an incredibly strong job market for seekers.
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United States | March 2022
Nationally, across all industries, hiring in the U.S. was 5.6% lower in February 2022 compared to last month. National hiring was 9.8% higher in February 2022 compared to last year February 2021. Looking ahead, headwinds building in the labor market mean hiring gains in 2022 are likely to be smaller than in 2021.
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United States | February 2022
Nationally, across all industries, hiring in the U.S. was 8.1% higher in January 2022 compared to last month December 2021. National hiring was 27% higher compared to this time last year, and jumped 10.6% from pre-COVID levels in January 2020. While signs point towards Friday’s BLS employment data being less upbeat, LinkedIn’s strong hiring rates this month suggest many employers are already looking past omicron. Looking ahead, it’s still possible we’ll experience a brief, lagged impact in the coming months - particularly as many had to cancel or push back interviews due to omicron, delaying their job start dates.
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United States | December 2021
Nationally, across all industries, hiring in the U.S. was 7.4% higher in November 2021 compared to last month. National hiring also jumped 5.7% above pre-COVID (February 2020) levels - the highest rate we’ve seen not only since the pandemic started, but since LinkedIn began tracking hiring rates in early 2015. Surging hiring rates reflect the current tightness in the labor market - with job openings plentiful and workers feeling more confident to switch roles in search of better wages and career growth.
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United States | November 2021
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.
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United States | September 2021
Modest improvement in August hiring: Across all industries, hiring in the U.S. was 2.9% higher in August 2021 compared to last month. National hiring in August was 34.7% higher compared to August 2020, but is still trailing pre-COVID levels from February 2020 by 2.8%. The U.S. economy is anticipated to gradually decelerate going forward, so any future gains in hiring are unlikely to match the pace seen in the second half of 2019 and early 2020.
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United States | July 2021
June hiring is up, but gains smaller than May: Across all industries, national hiring in the U.S. was 3.7% higher in June 2021 compared to last month. This is certainly a step in the right direction, but slower than May’s 7.7% gain. National hiring this June was 67.8% higher compared to June 2020.
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Canada | June 2021
Nationally, across all industries, hiring in Canada was 124.1% higher than in May 2020. National hiring was 2.7% higher in May from April 2021. The industries with the most notable hiring shifts month-to-month in May were Transportation & Logistics (21.9% higher); Hardware & Networking (20.1% higher); and Entertainment (13.7% higher).
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United States | May 2021
Nationally, across all industries, U.S. hiring continued its gradual recovery and increased 3.5% higher in April 2021 compared to last month March 2021, reaching pre-COVID highs experienced in February 2020. National hiring was 69.4% higher in April 2021 compared to last year April 2020 and these large year-over-year increases are expected as the anniversaries of hiring drops at the beginning of pandemic are reached.
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United States | April 2021
After a big gain in February, US hiring held steady in March near its highest levels since the pandemic began. Hiring is now only 2.0% below its pre-COVID level. Furthermore, we’re beginning to see the recovery broaden. Twelve industries are now hiring at or above their pre-COVID level, versus nine a month ago and five two months ago.
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United Kingdom | March 2021
Hiring in the UK picked up momentum in February and increased by 2.4% between January and February 2021. While the increase is a positive signal, hiring is still 5.8% lower than in February 2020. Industries that have been instrumental to the response to the pandemic, including Healthcare (+34.1%), Public Administration (+32.1%) and Transportation and Logistics (12.6%), are all showing double digit growth.
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United States | March 2021
While we haven’t quite reversed the rebounds we saw in December and January, we are continuing to see an uptick in hiring across industries. Most notably, our data shows nine industries now have hiring rates above pre-COVID levels. This is the most recovery we’ve seen to date.
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United States | February 2021
January was the second consecutive seasonally-adjusted month-over-month decline in our data: hiring in the U.S. was 2.8% lower in January 2021 from December 2020, and 7.6% lower than in January 2020. We have good reason to be optimistic that this “double dip” will end soon due to the triple punch of fiscal stimulus, vaccination and better weather.
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United States | January 2021
Hiring growth slowed in December, inching up 0.5% from November. We’re now the closest we’ve been to full hiring recovery since COVID first hit in February. Nine industries showed year-over-year growth in December, the largest number since February 2020. Workers continue to flock to cities where recovery is the strongest, but we’re seeing that overall the gaps in hiring recovery are shrinking.
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United States | December 2020
Hiring in the U.S. during November inched up 0.8% from October 2020. Despite more modest gains, hiring is inching closer to recovery and moving at a much faster pace than projected and is now only 4.2% lower than in November 2019.
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United Kingdom | December 2020
Hiring in the UK picked up some momentum in October and increased 5.8% for the month. While the increase is positive, hiring is still 10.2% lower than in October 2019. A number of industries posted strong double digit growth, including: Legal (42.2%); Media & Communications (41.3% higher); and Finance (23.6%).
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United States | November 2020
Hiring in the U.S. during October shot up 15.5% higher from September 2020. Looking at where that puts us from last year, hiring this month still remains 5.8% lower than it was in October 2019. Industries that have seen the biggest recovery since hitting lows in April include real estate and construction; and sunbelt cities continue to climb closest to recovery than other parts of the country.
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United States | October 2020
Hiring in the U.S. during September dipped 0.7% from August 2020, and it remains 13.3% lower than it was in September 2019. Positive month-over-month hiring momentum is building in: Energy & Mining (+7.3%), Transportation & Logistics (2.3%), Education (2.1%), and Wellness & Fitness (+1.1%). Sunbelt and southern cities also continue to climb closer to recovery.
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United States | September 2020
Hiring in the U.S. stalled out in August, and is still down -11.3% year-over-year. Our LinkedIn Hiring Rate shows that the virus has created a “ceiling” on just how much the economy can return to normal. Real estate (+10.4% M/M) and transportation & logistics (+8.4% M/M) are leading industries; and Austin (+7.4% M/M) and Denver (+4.7% M/M) are leading cities in the recovery.
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United States | August 2020
Hiring in the U.S. continues to recover, and is now only 7.4% lower than it was in July 2019. The rebound in hiring has broadened significantly across cities, reflecting economic reopening occurring across a wider range of geographies. While all of the cities we track are still down year over year, 15 of the cities we track posted double-digit increases month over month.
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United States | July 2020
Hiring across all industries in the U.S. is still down significantly year-over-year, measuring 39.6% lower than in June 2019. But we did see continued stability from May: national hiring in June was +0.1% higher. The industries with the most notable hiring shifts month-to-month in June were: Recreation & Travel (157.2% higher); Legal (99.3% higher); and Construction (77.2% higher).
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United States | June 2020
National hiring across all industries reached an unprecedented low of -37.9% in May than the year before. This new low signals a material bottoming out since we first began to see COVID-19’s impact on hiring in March, as we only saw a 1% drop in May from April 2020.
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United States | May 2020
Hiring across the US saw an unprecedented drop in April, down 24% M/M and 30% Y/Y. The least impacted industries are: hardware & networking (-8.5% Y/Y), public safety (-10.1% Y/Y), education (-15.6% Y/Y). The industries that are struggling the most are: travel & leisure (-71.1% Y/Y), real estate (-49.2% Y/Y) and construction (-45.8% Y/Y).
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United States | April 2020
Gross hiring across all industries in the U.S. was 1.1% lower than in March 2019, the largest drop in LinkedIn’s hiring rate since January 2017. LinkedIn data shows a spike in demand for workers in roles that are on the frontlines of helping us navigate this pandemic, and are critical to supporting the rapidly-changing healthcare and infrastructure needs of the country. Our data also reveals the industries that have been most resilient to this pandemic.
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United States | February 2020
Gross hiring in the U.S. was 5.7% higher than in January 2019. Industries with notable hiring gains month-to-month in December include: Public Safety (3.5% higher); Health Care (3.3% higher); and Wellness & Fitness (2% higher). Ahead of the 2020 census, LinkedIn Editor George Anders takes a closer look at the career pathways of more than 10,000 workers from the 2010 census.
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United States | January 2020
Gross hiring in the U.S. was 9.3% higher than in December 2018, and seasonally-adjusted national hiring was 1.5% higher in December from November 2019. Industries with notable hiring gains month-to-month in December include: Finance, Corporate Services and Retail. Agriculture posted a notable dip in hiring, down 2.5% year-over-year and 3.6% month-to-month. LinkedIn Editor George Anders also took a closer look at 12 cities where average hiring rates have climbed by at least 6.5% from last year.
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United States | December 2019
Gross hiring across all industries in the U.S. was 3.9% lower this month than in October 2018. LinkedIn Editor George Anders took a closer look at the transportation industry in his #AmericaAtWork series this month, revealing the top cities where transportation jobs are booming and the fastest-growing jobs in the industry.
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United States | November 2019
Gross hiring across all industries in the U.S. was 3.9% lower this month than in October 2018. LinkedIn Editor George Anders took a closer look at the transportation industry in his #AmericaAtWork series this month, revealing the top cities where transportation jobs are booming and the fastest-growing jobs in the industry.
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United States | October 2019
Seasonally-adjusted national hiring was 1.1% higher in September from August 2019. LinkedIn Editor George Anders took a closer look at migration and housing cost data in his #AmericaAtWork series this month, revealing the tipping point for when a city becomes too unaffordable to attract and keep talent.
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United Kingdom | February 2019
This month’s UK Workforce report reveals that hiring declined in December in most of the UK’s regions and sectors, but continues to be stronger than it was a year ago.
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United States | September 2019
Nationally, gross hiring in the U.S. showed slight year-over-year gains. Despite national hiring rates continuing to climb, the manufacturing and agriculture industries have been steadily declining since March 2018. Metro areas in the southern United States are seeing some of the sharpest drops in the manufacturing hiring rate.
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United States | August 2019
Nationally, across all industries, gross hiring in July was 3.9% higher than it was last year. For the 13th consecutive month, Austin outpaced the rest of the country in gaining new workers -- and the rate of workers moving to Austin is now 1.59 times greater than the next-largest gainer, Denver. Philadelphia posted the largest skills surpluses this month.
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United States | July 2019
Hiring saw a slight uptick in June. Hot hiring markets include smaller cities with large concentrations of Boomers and retirees. Workers leaving the largest U.S. cities are increasingly relocating to smaller cities in Florida and other Sunbelt states. Health Care is the most popular industry attracting these workers from the largest U.S. cities.
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United States | June 2019
Overall hiring is down in May, but the challenges aren’t evenly distributed across industries. Software & IT services and corporate services industries saw significant hiring gains, but export-producing goods industries like agriculture and manufacturing are facing rapid declines in hiring. High-growth startups are also fueling hiring, driven by San Francisco and New York. Secondary markets like Provo, Atlanta and Denver are also producing a high volume of high-growth startups.
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United States | May 2019
Hiring is down across the Midwest. Midwest may lose workers to major cities in the Southwest and West Coast. Flooding dealt another blow to the already struggling agriculture industry.
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India | H2 2018
The India professional workforce report is a half-yearly report on key trends among the professional workforce in the Indian economy, as represented by members on the LinkedIn platform.
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United States | April 2019
Hiring is down across the Midwest. Midwest may lose workers to major cities in the Southwest and West Coast. Flooding dealt another blow to the already struggling agriculture industry.
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United States | March 2019
U.S. Hiring Continues to Soften. Evolving Nature of Work.
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United States | February 2019
Ongoing instability may cause a public sector brain drain. Federal employees are open to new opportunities. Mild slowdown of national hiring may have bottomed out.
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United Kingdom | January 2019
This month’s UK Workforce report reveals that hiring declined in November across the UK, and in all sectors, but was stronger than a year ago as the UK’s employment boom continues.
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United States | January 2019
U.S. hiring slows modestly. Business skills surge in importance in traditional finance hubs. Coastal workers are meeting in the middle.
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United Kingdom | December 2018
This month’s LinkedIn Workforce Report for the UK reveals that a return to strong hiring number in London lifted the national figures in October, despite hiring being down in most of the UK’s regions Month on Month. Hiring is up significantly on a year ago, but talent continues to leave the UK.
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United States | December 2018
U.S. hiring levels off in 2018. A tightening labor market leads to significant skills shortages. Austin and Denver topple Seattle as cities attracting the most workers.
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United Kingdom | November 2018
This month’s LinkedIn Workforce Report for the UK covers the September peak in graduate recruitment, so we’ve taken the opportunity to dive in deeper to how new graduates are contributing to the UK’s labour force.
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United States | November 2018
US hiring levels off. San Francisco has the nation’s largest skills gap. Austin, Denver, and Nashville continue to attract workers.
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United Kingdom | October 2018
Hiring fell in August in the UK, in line with expectation for a month that sees many workplaces reduce activity, but compared to 2017 hiring remains strong, backing up the very high level of employment in the UK.
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India | 2018 H1
Today we are delighted to launch the inaugural LinkedIn Workforce Report – Professional Edition for India. The report is a half-yearly look at the key trends in the Indian professional workforce, as represented by member activity and job postings on the LinkedIn platform.
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United States | October 2018
US hiring growth shows signs of leveling off. Nashville, Charlotte, and Las Vegas surpass Seattle as top destinations. Cities on the rise show growth in tech and retail.
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United Kingdom | September 2018
September’s LinkedIn Workforce Report includes a deep dive into Financial Services in the UK. Ten years on from the collapse Lehman Brothers the UK financial services workforce has changed in behaviour and nature: Fintech’s rise means the banks are not the first choice employer, the sector is hiring more lawyers, and more software engineers, but fewer people from other countries.
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United States | September 2018
Agriculture hiring is growing. Retail on the rebound. They’re not in Wichita, Kansas, anymore.
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United Kingdom | August 2018
LinkedIn’s nineth UK Workforce Report has found that the UK Hiring Rate was up in June, with IT Hardware and Legal Services showing the largest increases, but London lags behind the positive trend across the regions, and the UK continues to lose talent to other countries.
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United States | August 2018
Summer of strong hiring continues through July. Austin’s job market has never been hotter. Demand for data scientists is off the charts.
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United States | July 2018
Despite dip, June hiring remains strong. Chinese retaliatory tariffs may exacerbate job losses in cities already losing workers. Finding bright spots in the dimming telecommunications industry.
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United Kingdom | July 2018
LinkedIn’s eighth UK Workforce Report has found that the UK experienced a significant dip in hiring in May. Hiring fell in 10 out of the 12 UK nations and regions, and the UK continue to experience a net loss of overseas talent.
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United States | June 2018
Oil industry turns up the heat on hiring, and Houston’s skills surplus is tightening accordingly. When a city is synonymous with a single industry, boom and bust cycles have outsized impact.
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United Kingdom | June 2018
June’s LinkedIn UK Workforce Report confirms that the UK continues to see a net loss of international talent and London also is seeing a net outflow of professional talent to overseas for the third month running. Meanwhile, the Hiring Rate is up, with April 2018 seeing significantly more hires that April 2017.
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United States | May 2018
Hiring strong and stable through April. The U.S. needs 230,000 more people with marketing skills. Americans are moving from high-tax states to low-tax states.
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United Kingdom | April 2018
April’s LinkedIn Workforce Report includes a deep dive into post Brexit Migration Trends, and additional research into the sentiment of recruiters working in the UK. Migration from the EU has been falling since the Brexit referendum, and the UK is now losing talent to the EU.
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United Kingdom | March 2018
UK hiring slowed in February, and we saw the first signs of a decline in the attractiveness of the UK as destination for international workers, with the majority of UK regions, including London, losing more talent from overseas than they gained.
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United States | April 2018
Hiring keeps up the pace through March. The best U.S. cities for green jobs. No, San Franciscans are not fleeing to the Midwest.
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United States | March 2018
February hiring remains strong after January’s spike. Banks are hiring, but it’s not only where you’d expect. Growing cities need teachers.
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United Kingdom | February 2018
UK hiring enjoyed a strong start to 2018. The UK continues to be an attractive destination for international workers, with most UK regions gaining more talent from overseas than they lost.
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United States | February 2018
2018 is off to an incredibly strong start for hiring. Accountants benefit the most from the new tax bill. More and more people are betting on Las Vegas.
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United Kingdom | January 2018
Hiring activity is down in the UK as a whole, and the Hiring Rate fell in all 12 regions and nations of the UK except for London and the South East. Most sectors saw a fall in hiring, but nine of 12 UK regions and nations gained more talent from overseas than they lost.
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