Job market trends are identifiable patterns and shifts in the labor market that impact hiring and workforce planning. They can be cyclical, structural, or emerging. Recruiters, HR professionals, career counselors, and business leaders rely on job market trend data to inform their hiring strategies and workforce planning.
Since peaking in 2021, job postings have pulled back significantly in most industries. The pullback has slowed the overall hires rate and left it still below pre-pandemic levels. While the rate has begun to pick up, it will be some time before it reaches pre-pandemic levels.
In recent years, employers have increasingly prioritized skills over formal qualifications. As a result, the share of job postings that require a degree or specific years of experience has dropped. This trend shows a clear and consistent shift in hiring practices that may continue into 2025.
The number of vacancies has also fallen, but is still far above pre-pandemic levels. This could be a sign that the labor market is stabilizing, but it also may indicate that companies are not yet willing to open up positions unless they can fill them quickly.
Meanwhile, annual posted wage growth has stabilized for low-, middle-, and high-wage jobs. This indicates that pent-up demand for post-pandemic spending has largely exhausted itself, but that wages are beginning to recover in higher-wage sectors. The unemployment rate has been on the decline and now sits at a healthy 4.2%, which means there’s room for it to tick up without immediately jeopardizing a soft landing in 2025.