October 2024 Jobs Recap

Key Takeaways:

• Slight Decline in Active Job Listings: Active job listings fell by 8,969 from September to October, which represents only a 0.17% drop. This indicates employers' cautious optimism as they balance growth with concerns over inflation, geopolitical tensions, and the impact of increased government spending and debt.
• Election Uncertainty: The US election may have prompted some companies to delay hiring decisions, awaiting clarity on potential economic and regulatory changes, as businesses assess how election outcomes could impact their operational strategies. From our data we see a 10% increase in the closed duration value, indicating that companies are taking longer to hire. With Trump now elected as president, there may be an increase in job listing numbers in the coming months as businesses respond to the new administration's policies.

U.S. Job Listings by Month | January 2020 - October 2024

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.

In October, the job market showed continued cooling, with the LinkUp 10,000 index showing a slight decline of 0.4% from the previous month. The current monthly job listings stand at 4,801,770, down from 4,819,850 in September. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1% in October. Compared to October last year, the index is 7.7% lower, indicating a longer-term cooling in the labor market as businesses remain wary in a fluctuating economic landscape.

Monthly LinkUp 10,000 | January 2021 - October 2024

Closed Duration

Closed duration, or the average number of days job listings are posted on company websites before they are removed, tracks hiring velocity across the entire U.S. economy. As the average number of days a job listing remains live increases, hiring velocity slows.

In October, the closed duration rose to 44.5 days, up from 40.7 days in September. This rise in closed duration could be attributed to companies delaying hiring decisions as they await the outcomes of the U.S. election, which may impact economic policies and business strategies.

U.S. Job Listing By Month | January 2020 - October 2024

Jobs Data By Industry (NAICS)

We’re clocking a rise in open jobs across 59% of industries this month, with largest gains in:

• Health Care and Social Assistance (+32.5k)

• Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (+10.9k)

• Information (+8.3k)

Industries that experienced the largest drops in job openings last month:

• Public Administration (-46.6k)

• Finance and Insurance (-41.9k)

• Retail - Gen Merch (-17.1k)

Job Listings by Industry (NAICS) | October 2024

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

Industry Spotlight:

UBS Slashes Workforce by 35,000 in Massive Post-Merger Shakeup

In October, the Finance and Insurance industry experienced significant layoffs. UBS, Visa, and Goldman Sachs are among the prominent companies making substantial workforce cuts.

In April, UBS announced plans to lay off between 30,000 and 35,000 employees globally, following its high-profile acquisition of Credit Suisse. This acquisition, orchestrated by the Swiss government to prevent Credit Suisse’s collapse, represents the largest bank merger since the global financial crisis. UBS’s restructuring aims to cut around $6 billion in employee costs, with the biggest impact seen in Computer and Mathematical roles, as well as Finance Operations. This downsizing aligns with UBS's strategy to integrate operations and streamline roles after the merger, contributing to a major drop in active job listings in September and October within these areas.

Significant drop in Monthly job listing at UBS in Q3, Q4 in the U.S.

Drop in hiring for Computer and Mathematical and Finance Operations roles at UBS

Similarly, Visa announced in late October that it plans to eliminate around 1,400 positions by the year’s end to streamline its international business. Approximately 1,000 of these cuts will target technology roles, with other reductions focused on merchant sales and global digital partnerships. This decision comes as Visa adapts to a shifting market environment and seeks to enhance operational efficiency across its international divisions.

Goldman Sachs also began layoffs in September, which will continue through the fall as part of its annual “strategic resource assessment.” The investment bank’s workforce reductions are expected to impact roughly 3% to 4% of its 45,000 employees, amounting to approximately 1,300 to 1,800 positions. These cuts primarily affect the investment banking division, which has faced reduced deal-making activity amid economic uncertainty. For Goldman, this adjustment is part of a cyclical review process, common in the finance industry, where firms periodically evaluate their workforce based on performance metrics and market conditions.

Overall, these layoffs in the Finance and Insurance industry underscore a combination of economic caution, cost-saving measures, and efforts to align workforce structures with evolving business demands. While challenging, these actions are seen as part of a strategic recalibration within some of the sector's largest firms, positioning them to navigate ongoing market fluctuations and prepare for future growth opportunities.

Jobs Data By Occupation (O*NET)

Reflecting the increase in job postings across U.S. industries this month, 55% of occupational groups saw a rise in hiring.

Occupations with a rise in demand:

• Healthcare Practitioners and Technical (12k)

• Healthcare Support (9.1k)

• Management (6.9k)

Occupations with a drop in demand:

• Business and Financial Operations (-18k)

• Sales and Related (-15.9k)

Job Listings by Occupation (O*NET) | October 2024

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

Occupation Spotlight:

AI spells bad times for sales jobs

In October, the sales sector experienced a decline of approximately 15,900 positions, influenced by recent layoffs and the increasing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) to automate sales and customer-related roles.

Companies like JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo are leveraging AI-driven tools to streamline interactions, personalize product recommendations, and enhance client engagement in the finance industry.

Similarly, other firms are leveraging AI to enhance efficiency, resulting in decreased demand for traditional sales roles. This trend reflects a broader shift towards automation, reshaping the employment landscape within the sales industry.

Monthly Job Listings for Sales and Related roles since June 2024

Jobs Data By State

During the month of October, 48% of the United States saw an increase in job listings from October. The states that saw the largest increases:

• Washington D.C. (+15.3%)

• Kansas (+3.3%)

• Alaska (+2.5%)

The states with largest drops in labor demand in October were:

• Montana (-9%)

• South Dakota (-8.8%)

• Nebraska (-6.9%)

Percent Change in Active Job Listings by State (Month-Over-Month) | October 2024

Companies Added

Every month, LinkUp indexes new companies to our database. In October, LinkUp added 870 additional employer websites.

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.