The hiring market across the United States is robust, with some sectors experiencing significant growth. Jobs in the healthcare industry, particularly for physicians, surgeons, mental health therapists, and personal care and home health workers, have seen an increase in demand of up to 87% compared to pre-pandemic levels. Indeed, an economist, Cory Stahle, noted that the trend of high demand for healthcare workers has been ongoing for a couple of years and shows no signs of slowing down. This sustained demand is attributed to the consistent need for healthcare services regardless of economic conditions.
On the other hand, certain sectors that experienced a surge in hiring during the pandemic have now pulled back. Demand for software developers has decreased by 31% compared to pre-pandemic levels. Jobs in information design and documentation, which are conducive to remote work, have also seen a decline according to data from Indeed. Stahle mentioned that these sectors experienced high demand during the pandemic due to remote work arrangements, but are now rebalancing as the situation normalizes.
Of the 46 sectors analyzed by Indeed, some have seen a significant increase in job postings since February 2020. In addition to healthcare, civil engineering, therapy, personal care and home health, and sports-related roles have also witnessed a rise in job postings. Conversely, sectors such as software development, information design and documentation, media and communications, mathematics, and marketing have seen a sharp decline in job postings compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Despite fluctuations in specific job sectors, the overall U.S. labor market remains healthy based on government data. The nation’s unemployment rate in September fell to 4.1%, which, although higher than the record low of 3.4% in April 2023, is still low historically. Hiring has been strong across various industries, with nearly 58% of private industries adding jobs in September, according to Oxford Economics. This indicates a broad-based recovery in the labor market.
As the economy recovers from the pandemic, employee pay has also accelerated. Wages for workers in production and nonsupervisory roles have increased by more than 26% between February 2020 and September of this year. In comparison, consumer prices have risen by 21.4% over the same period. This data from the Center for American Progress shows that wages have outpaced inflation, resulting in real wage growth for workers. Megan Cerullo, a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch based in New York, covers various topics related to small businesses, workplace trends, healthcare, consumer spending, and personal finance, and regularly provides insights on her reporting on CBS News 24/7.
