LinkedIn Workforce Report | United States | February 2017

See more recent insights in the March LinkedIn Workforce Report.

Over 133 million workers in the U.S. have LinkedIn profiles; thousands of companies in the U.S. use LinkedIn to recruit; millions of jobs are posted on LinkedIn in the U.S. every month; and members can add over 50,000 skills to their profiles to showcase their professional brands. That gives us unique and valuable insight into U.S. workforce trends.

The LinkedIn Workforce Report is a monthly report on employment trends in the U.S. workforce. It’s divided into two sections: a U.S. section that provides insights into hiring, skills gaps, and migration trends across the country, and a City section that provides insights into localized employment trends in 10 of the largest U.S. cities: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.

Our vision is to create economic opportunity for every worker in the global workforce. We hope you’ll use insights from our report to better navigate your career - whether you’re unemployed and wondering if hiring is improving in your industry, exploring new skills to learn to make yourself more attractive to employers, or considering a move and curious which cities need your skills most.

Key Insights

• Hiring up two months in a row - Hiring across the U.S. was 11.4% higher in January 2017 than January 2016. Seasonally-adjusted hiring (hiring that excludes seasonal hiring variations - like companies hiring less in December due to the holiday season) was 11.8% higher in January than December. Hiring was higher in almost all industries in January 2017 than January 2016 as well, with oil and energy experiencing the highest spike in hiring year-over-year - up 23.3%. If your New Year’s resolution is finding a new job, check out LinkedIn Jobs because new jobs are opening up!
• Employers need workers with service-industry skills - San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Houstonhave the largest skills gaps - mismatches between the skills employers need (demand) and the skills workers have (supply). San Francisco and Washington, D.C.’s skills gaps are largely due to a scarcity of workers with service-industry skills - like nursing, education and teaching, and retail store operations. Houston’s skills gap, on the other hand, is due to an abundance of workers with oil and energy skills - like drill and well management, subsea engineering and offshore operations, and geology. If you live in San Francisco or Washington, D.C. check out their City Reports for LinkedIn Learning courses that can help you learn service-industry skills. If you have those skills, live in another city, and want to relocate, check out open jobs in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. If you live in Houston and want to make yourself more marketable to employers, check out its City Report to see the LinkedIn Learning courses you can take to learn the skills that are in scarcity there.
• Workers flocking to cities with lower cost of living, and access to the great outdoors - Seattle, Portland, Austin, Denver, and Charlotte gained the most workers in the last 12 months. If you’re interested in moving to Seattle, check out its City Report to see if you have the skills employers need most. If you do, take a look at open jobs in Seattle . If you don’t, the City Report features LinkedIn Learning courses that will help you learn the most in-demand skills in Seattle. (If you’re interested, you can also check out open jobs in Portland, Austin, Denver, and Charlotte.)

Hiring Up Two Months In A Row

Hiring in the U.S. was lower between this past June and November compared to the same months in 2015. This trend of lower hiring in the summer and fall was probably caused by the slow tightening of financial conditions over the preceding 12 months - including the raising of interest rates by the Federal Reserve and the general slowdown of the global economy.

December bucked that trend with a 8.4% increase in hiring compared to December 2015. And seasonally-adjusted hiring (hiring that excludes seasonal hiring variations - like companies hiring less in December due to the holiday season) was 3.3% higher in December than November. The trend continued in January 2017 - hiring was 11.4% higher than January 2016.

It’s premature to conclude that stronger U.S. hiring is an ongoing trend, rather than just a temporary blip. But it’s possible that employers in at least some industries have become more optimistic since the U.S. presidential election. Additionally, rising stock prices have possibly led to companies hiring more.

Removing seasonal hiring variations - like companies hiring less in December due to the holiday season - helps us uncover emerging hiring trends. As you can see in the chart below, seasonally-adjusted hiring was 11.8% higher in January than December.

The recent trend of increased hiring for the last two months is good news for jobseekers. If your New Year’s resolution is to find a new job, now’s a great time to check out LinkedIn Jobs because jobs are opening up!

Industry Hiring

Hiring was higher in most industries in January 2017 than January 2016. The media and entertainment industry was the only industry to buck the trend - hiring was 3.5% lower in January 2017 than January 2016, and seasonally-adjusted hiring was 6.6% lower in January than December.

The oil and energy industry had the largest year-over-year increase in hiring. In 2015 and 2016, the industry experienced a severe recession due to the collapse of global energy prices. Crude oil prices have risen sharply since early 2016 though, so oil and energy companies may be starting to feel comfortable hiring more. Manufacturing/industrial and aerospace/automotive/transportation companies also experienced relatively large year-over-year increases in hiring - but not as much as the oil and energy industry.

Employers Need Workers With Service-Industry Skills

San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Houston have the largest skills gaps nationally. San Francisco and Washington, D.C.’s skills gaps are largely due to a scarcity of workers with service-industry skills - like nursing, education and teaching, and retail store operations. Houston’s skills gap, on the other hand, is primarily due to an abundance of workers with oil and energy skills - like drill and well management, subsea engineering and offshore operations, and geology.

A skills gap is a mismatch between the skills employers need (demand) and the skills workers have (supply). There is an abundance of skills when supply exceeds demand. There is a scarcity of skills when demand exceeds supply. A city with a scarcity of skills needs more workers with certain skills, while a city with an abundance of skills has too many workers with certain skills. Generally speaking, cities with high skill scarcity have stronger economies than cities with high skills abundance.

A skills gap is good news for jobseekers when it’s caused by a scarcity of skills, and bad news when it’s caused by an abundance of skills.

San Francisco, Austin, and Washington, D.C. have the largest scarcity of skills, particularly service-industry skills.

Interestingly, West Palm Beach, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale have the largest abundance of skills. That’s likely because they’re home to a large number of retired workers who remain active on boards and in the non-profit industry. If you’re a recruiter, you should consider tapping into this underutilized talent pool!

Check out the City Reports for Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. to see which skills are most scarce in those cities, and which jobs are open.

Workers Flocking To Cities With Lower Cost Of Living And Access To The Great Outdoors

Generally speaking, cities that are gaining lots of workers have stronger economies than cities that are losing lots of workers.

As you can see below, Seattle, Portland, Austin, Denver, and Charlotte gained the most workers over the last 12 months. For every 10,000 LinkedIn members in Seattle, 68.2 workers moved to the city in the last year - mostly from San Francisco, Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles.

Seattle, Portland, Austin, Denver, and Charlotte are all cities that have a lower cost of living than cities like New York and San Francisco, and have access to the great outdoors. This is a trend we’re keeping an eye on. Here are open jobs in Seattle, Portland, and Austin, if you’re interested in a new adventure. But before relocating, check out Seattle’s City Report to ensure you have the skills employers in the city need most. If you do, great! If you don’t, the City Report features LinkedIn Learning courses that will teach you the skills in high demand from employers in Seattle.

Providence lost the most workers over the last 12 months. For every 10,000 LinkedIn members in Providence, 55.2 have left the city in the last year. If you live in Providence, and are considering relocating, take a look at the City Reports for the cities that gained the most workers in the last year to see if you have the skills companies in those cities need most.

When it comes to total migration (workers moving into and out of a city) Austin, Orange County, and San Diego topped the list. For every 10,000 LinkedIn members in Austin, 573.3 arrived in or left the city in the last 12 months. If you’re considering moving to Austin, Orange County, or San Diego, you should consider renting versus buying since chances are you won’t stay long.