Job market rebounds: Report shows strong demand, low volatility

The economy’s labor market has rebounded after slumping in the second half of 2023 and currently boasts a historically low level of volatility. Those are the big takeaways from the most recent Economic Indicator Report.

According to the report, which was carried out by job search engine LinkUp and pulls data from its database of over 65,000 company websites, labor demand increased significantly from Q4 2023 to Q1 2024. Active job listings jumped 0.9% and 7.5% more new jobs were added. At the same time, the removal rate for job postings increased 4.3%, suggesting that positions were being filled quickly. Average posting duration also jumped to 47.6 days, a 7.5% increase. According to the report’s authors, these numbers are good news, “These combined factors paint a picture of a dynamic job market with strong employer demand and a need for qualified candidates to fill the growing number of open positions.”

Although the slump of late 2023 reversed, Q1 2024’s labor market was still much cooler than it was a year before. There were 8,448,891 unique job postings in Q1 2024 compared to 9,236,421 in Q1 2023.

The labor market’s growth was not uniform across job fields. Labor demand in Q1 2024 increased in 65% of occupations. Educational Instruction and Library (+76.6%), Construction and Extraction (+16.0%), and Life, Physical and Extraction (+9.4%), saw the most gain. The study notes, however, that the huge jump in Educational Instruction and Library was affected by the inclusion of more public schools in the data sample. Retail Trade (Sporting Goods, General Merch) (-8.7%), Food Preparation and Serving Related (-5.5%), and Accommodation and Food Services (-5.4%) posted the biggest declines.

The job market also differs greatly by region. Big gains were observed in Montana (+24.9%), Maine (+12.3%), and Alaska (+12.1%). Meanwhile, labor demand decreased in both South Dakota and West Virginia by 10% or more.

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Summing up their most recent findings, the report’s authors give a rosy forecast for the labor market moving forward:

“Last quarter’s steady regrowth in listings indicates a job market returned to very healthy balance, with a high likelihood of continued growth.

“After seeing labor demand volatility rise modestly in our last report, it has plateaued from Q4 2023 to Q1 2024. With current volatility near an all-time low, the story of steady labor demand growth has written another chapter this quarter.