US Hiring Slows in January, 16% Below Pre-Pandemic Levels

I’m partnering with Indeed (#IndeedPartner ) because, listen, the labor market is moving *way* faster than any leader can keep up with. That’s a fact. Job seekers are searching differently, roles are evolving and assumptions get us into trouble. AI is changing both the way people find work and the way companies hire, and the headlines can’t give us a real-time sense of the data.  But here’s what I love- this is where Indeed comes in. Indeed’s Hiring Lab has taken literally millions of data points into real-time insights to show us how the workforce is changing. That’s incredibly helpful for both hiring managers and job seekers as they try to navigate what’s ahead. Indeed’s 2026 U.S. Jobs & Hiring Trends Report is real, actual data. It’s not speculation. It shows which sectors are growing, which roles are shifting and how skills are evolving so you can plan with confidence instead of reacting after the fact, which is pretty much where we are right now. You want to understand the labor market right now? Make smarter decisions for your team or your career? Me too. That's why this is seriously worth your attention. Check it out: https://www.hiringlab.org/ (Also huge thanks to The Washington Post and WP Creative Group for helping me access all this!)

What is the job market like for 2026? According to many analysts and several publications I've read, there is a new term being passed around. It is called "LOW HIRE, LOW FIRE." Employers are being cautious in 2026, but they're not exactly mass firing as well. After the 2020 world-wide pandemic, where the market favored employees. It appears now that there is a market correction currently happening. If you have been in the market for a new job for quick a while now. I'm sure you have noticed that the same jobs you were applying for a few years back are now paying a lot less than before. And while those same jobs were hiring several people for those positions, now companies might just have only one or just two openings. What those this all mean for employees and current job seekers? Well, if you happen to be one of the lucky ones who still has employment, my advice would be to keep it. Stability matters in a cautious market. Do not quit unless you have signed on the dotted lines for your new employer. If you fall under the category of looking for employment, this is your moment to upskill and reach out to your connections. Unfortunately, unemployment is expected to grow this year, but since I'm not a pessimist, I'll leave you with a few pointers. -Tailor your resume to the roles you want. -Go through several job descriptions in roles that you are targeting. If you notice the same skills being mentioned. Please add those skills to your resume. -Keep your resume short. Everyone mentions the one-page rule, but I tend to disagree. Two pages are just fine. The rules tend to change depending on the career, years of experience, industry you might be in and so on. -Lastly, apply, apply and apply some more. Preferably on Sundays before the week starts. Wednesdays in the morning and Fridays before the of the day. Good luck to you and congratulations to the ones that have started the year with a new employment.

LinkedIn just dropped their 2026 labor market report. One stat jumped out. 52% of people say they're job hunting right now. But 80% feel completely unprepared to find a new job. That's the market you're hiring into. If you're trying to fill a RevOps, GTM, or Sales Systems role you're seeing this play out in real time. Your pipeline looks decent on paper. Applications are up. But the quality isn't there. Here's what's actually happening. People want to move. They're unhappy. They're scared about layoffs. But they're paralyzed because they don't know what skills actually matter anymore or how to position themselves. So you get flooded with applications from people who are desperate to leave but have no idea if they're even qualified for what you're hiring for. Meanwhile, the people you actually want? They're not moving. Job transitions are at a 10-year low. The talent that could walk into your role and execute from day one is sitting tight, waiting to see what shakes out. Hiring is down 20% compared to pre-COVID. Not compared to the boom years compared to 2019. Companies are in wait-and-see mode. Budgets are frozen. Headcount is tight. But your revenue targets didn't change. Your systems still need someone running them. Your sales team still needs ops infrastructure to close deals. So you're stuck trying to hire for a critical role in a market where: Good talent won't move. Average talent is flooding your pipeline. Your budget is half what it was two years ago. And your exec team keeps asking "can AI just do this?" If it feels harder than it should the data backs you up. The market fundamentally broke. What worked in 2021 doesn't work anymore. What are you seeing in your hiring right now? 

LinkedIn Post — Current Jobs Report & Hiring Landscape 📣 U.S. Jobs Report Update — What It Means for Talent & Employers The latest U.S. labor market data shows a cooling jobs market, with overall job growth slowing and unemployment holding at elevated levels compared with past years. Official reports recently highlighted that only 50,000 jobs were added in December 2025, and total job creation in 2025 was the weakest since 2020 — even as the unemployment rate holds around ~4.4%. In addition, the January 2026 jobs report publication has been delayed due to a partial federal government shutdown, adding uncertainty around real-time labor trends. Economists are pointing to broader structural shifts — including policy uncertainty and technological changes like automation — as factors slowing hiring momentum. Meanwhile, certain sectors such as manufacturing are showing signs of resilience, even in a challenging environment. 📌 Why This Matters for Employers & Job Seekers In a slower job market: ✅ Employers must be more strategic and efficient with recruiting ✅ Job seekers face greater competition for quality opportunities ✅ Hiring cycles can lengthen and skill gaps can widen This is where staffing and recruiting partners bring real value: 🔹 Labor Market Intelligence We translate macroeconomic signals into actionable workforce strategies so companies don’t over- or under-hire. 🔹 Flexibility & Speed Contingent and contract talent helps organizations scale up when needed without long-term risk — especially in uncertain hiring climates. 🔹 Access to Hard-to-Find Skills Specialized talent — including tech and niche roles — is increasingly critical even when overall job growth is tepid. 🔹 Better Candidate Experience Our teams help candidates position themselves effectively in a tighter job market, improving placement success. 🎯 Bottom Line Whether the latest data continues to show slower growth or delays in reporting, the labor market is clearly in a transition phase. This makes strategic staffing partnerships more crucial than ever for sustaining growth and staying competitive. 💬 Let’s talk about how data-driven hiring strategies can make all the difference this quarter! #JobsReport #HiringTrends #Staffing #Workforce #Recruiting #LaborMarket

LinkedIn data shows the labor market cooled in January. Hiring fell 3% from December and nearly 6% compared to January 2025. Furthermore, hiring is still 16% below its pre-pandemic pace (January 2019). Competition for jobs rose with fewer job postings per applicant—down 4% from December—and workers are leaving their jobs at about the same rate as before. We continue to see signs of stabilization in Technology, Information, and Media hiring, though hiring there is still slow and remains 22% below its pre-pandemic pace. For job seekers, a cooler January labor market means more competition and slower hiring overall, so the most promising paths forward will come from targeting the pockets of resilience—in fields like construction, utilities, healthcare, and education—where demand remains comparatively strong. ADP's data today shows modest job gains among the usual suspects—healthcare, education, and leisure and hospitality—alongside stable pay growth. ADP's data also shows ongoing job losses in Manufacturing and Information. Tomorrow’s JOLTS report will give us a clearer read on layoffs. Then we get 2026’s first jobs report next Wednesday. For a deeper look at where the US labor market stands and what to expect, check out my jobs report article—live tomorrow after JOLTS. #linkedin #jobsreport

This number should make every business leader pause. Private companies added just 22,000 jobs in January, half of what analysts expected. And without a 74,000-job bump in education and health services, the headline would’ve been negative. That tells us a few things • Hiring hasn’t stopped — it’s hesitating • Employers are being selective, not expansive • Essential roles are still moving; discretionary hiring is not What’s more telling? This data comes from ADP, which sees payroll activity in real time. When ADP slows, sentiment usually slowed weeks ago.

My man, it never warmed in the first place. Jobs numbers were massaged, delayed, and spun — and the only sector that actually grew was healthcare. Which is funny, because the AI 2027 papers literally say healthcare is one of the last industries that still needs humans. AI is already eating a real % of jobs. And once these counterintuitive C-suites wake up, they’ll realize they trained no entry-level humans to replace anyone — just machines.

Two practical takeaways from this data for both employers and job seekers: 1. Talent competition is intensifying — with job postings per applicant down ~4% from December, standing out in the recruiting process requires differentiation through employer brand, candidate experience, and skills-based assessments. 2. Resilience is uneven across sectors — healthcare, education, construction, and utilities continue to show relatively robust demand, reinforcing the value of sector-specific labor market strategies. As we await the JOLTS release tomorrow and the February jobs report next week, this cooling reinforces the importance of data-driven workforce planning — not reactive hiring freezes — but strategic allocation of talent and upskilling investments where demand remains strong.

We’ve been seeing many of the same signals with clients: a noticeably more employer-driven labor market, slower hiring, and less upward pressure on pay overall. At the same time, the sector differences called out here are critical — demand (and pay dynamics) haven’t cooled evenly. This is where targeted compensation strategies matter far more than across-the-board approaches.