March 2025 Jobs Recap: Labor demand up from February, but underlying volatility spells long term trouble.

Key Takeaways:

• Volatility is king. Or is that Donald Trump? In the third month of 2025, we’re seeing a zig-zag pattern of labor demand—down 5 % one month, up 4% the next. Monthly variation is normal in a healthy job market, but these are woozier than normal swings. As trade policy hinges and shifts on one man’s whim, business decision makers are playing craps with staffing investments, balancing the competing possibilities that Trump’s tariffs are, a) a short-term negotiating tactic or, b) a long-term strategy to restore American manufacturing capacity.

• Paralytic tariffs. The delta between new and removed jobs had been in lockstep for most of 2025, following the typical new year hiring boom. Now, the gap between them is widening, with 25% more job removals than job creations in March. This fork indicates a significant pullback from planned hiring across the U.S. job market, a predictable effect of tariff uncertainty.

• DC labor woes. 49 of 50 states saw MoM increases in labor demand across most industries and occupations. Job openings in Arkansas remained flat. Only the nation’s capital charted a month of negative growth, with a 2% decline in job openings, mostly for public administration roles. It’s a strong reminder that DOGE’s moves are best tracked not on Elon’s X, but with real time labor demand data.

U.S. Job Listings by Month | March 2024 - March 2025

The graph illustrates monthly job listing trends in the U.S., comparing new and removed job postings alongside total active listings.

LinkUp 10,000

The LinkUp 10,000 is an analytic published daily and monthly that captures the total U.S. job openings from the 10,000 global employers in LinkUp’s jobs dataset with the most U.S. openings.

Monthly LinkUp 10,000 | March 2023 - March 2025

Jobs Data By Industry (NAICS)

We're seeing growth in labor demand across most sectors for the month of March. The three largest by percentage:

• Management of companies (15%)

• Wholesale trade (8%)

• Transportation and warehousing (7%)

Job Listings by Industry (NAICS) | March 2025

This chart displays the change in job listings across various industries, categorized by NAICS codes.

Jobs Data By Occupation (O*NET)

90% of occupations saw openings rise in March. The top three by percentage:

• Education (11%)

• Protective service (6%)

• Transportation/Material moving (5%)

Job Listings by Occupation (O*NET) | March 2025

This chart displays the change in job listings across various occupations, categorized by O*NET codes.

Closed Duration: Up in March to 47 days from 43 in February.

Closed duration, or the average number of days job listings remain live on company websites before removal, tracks hiring velocity across the U.S. economy. As the average duration increases, hiring velocity slows.

U.S. Job Listing By Month | March 2024 - March 2025

Jobs Data By State

During the month of March, nearly all the states in the Union saw an increase in job openings from February. Washington, D.C. is a notable exile from this party, with 2% declines in labor demand led by DOGE cuts in public administration.

Percent Change in Active Job Listings by State (Month-Over-Month) | March 2025

Job Openings down 2% in DC for March, but up or flat in all 50 states

Companies Added

Every month, LinkUp indexes new companies to our database. In March, LinkUp added 922 additional employer websites.

Contact us if you are interested in obtaining the complete list of recently added companies.

DATA DISCLAIMERS

LinkUp’s monthly data recaps incorporate revisions to previously-reported monthly data with the purpose of reporting the most accurate and up-to-date data points. For more information on what circumstances may impact data revisions, visit our Data Support Center.