Indeed’s 2024 US Jobs & Hiring Trends Report: Reasons for Cautious Optimism

The US labor market enjoyed a surprisingly smooth 2023. A repeat performance in 2024 may not be as easy, but it is possible.

The labor market didn’t follow the script many people wrote for it this year. Let’s all be thankful for that. Despite many projections for a recession, a historically fast tightening of monetary policy by the Federal Reserve, a banking crisis, and geopolitical crises and uncertainty, the labor market stands strong. Getting to this spot required a few unexpected things to happen. 

Job openings and job postings fell considerably, but layoffs stayed low. Workers came flooding back into the labor force, and employers continued hiring at a solid clip, but wage growth slowed. The so-called “Great Resignation” that marked the early post-pandemic years ended, but workers still felt comfortable leaving their jobs. A host of new artificial intelligence tools were introduced that threaten to upend how many workers do their jobs, but there’s no immediate sign of it displacing workers. 

But past performance is no guarantee of future results. Everything that needed to go right for the labor market in 2023 largely has. For next year to end on a similar high note, a few trends need to hold up or accelerate in 2024: 

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