State of the Labor Market

State of the Labor Market
Q3 2026 Productivity and Costs Release: Doing More with Less
A group of colleagues of varying ages sit around a conference table in a sunlit office, with an older woman holding her glasses while speaking, surrounded by others smiling and listening.
By Aubrey Woessner - November 5, 2026
A group of colleagues of varying ages sit around a conference table in a sunlit office, with an older woman holding her glasses while speaking, surrounded by others smiling and listening.
State of the Labor Market
September 2026 JOLTS Report: Eerily Quiet
A line graph with a dark blue line for the monthly quits rate and a lighter blue line for its three-month average, plotted against years from 2022 to 2026 on the horizontal axis and percentages from about 1.8% to 3.0% on the vertical axis. A dashed horizontal line marks the 2019 average at roughly 2.3%. Both lines peak near 3.0% in 2022, fall steadily through 2023 and 2024, and hover around 2.0% from 2025 onward, with the quits rate ticking up to about 2.1% at the end of the line.
By Cory Stahle - November 3, 2026
A line graph with a dark blue line for the monthly quits rate and a lighter blue line for its three-month average, plotted against years from 2022 to 2026 on the horizontal axis and percentages from about 1.8% to 3.0% on the vertical axis. A dashed horizontal line marks the 2019 average at roughly 2.3%. Both lines peak near 3.0% in 2022, fall steadily through 2023 and 2024, and hover around 2.0% from 2025 onward, with the quits rate ticking up to about 2.1% at the end of the line.
State of the Labor Market
Q3 2026 Employment Cost Index: Rising Healthcare Costs Keep Haunting Employers
A healthcare worker in teal scrubs with a lanyard and badge looks down at a smartphone while standing on a sidewalk, with a storefront reading “2nd Street” and a tree in the background.
By An Nguyen - October 30, 2026
A healthcare worker in teal scrubs with a lanyard and badge looks down at a smartphone while standing on a sidewalk, with a storefront reading “2nd Street” and a tree in the background.
State of the Labor Market
October 2026 FOMC Reaction: A Waiting Game
A stacked area chart showing the share of CPI items by 12-month price growth category from 2016 through September 2026. The share of items with inflation below 2% has declined to 38%, while items growing 2-4% sit at 32% and items growing 4% or more sit at 30%, following a sharp spike in the 4%+ category during 2022.
By Aubrey Woessner & Felix Aidala - October 28, 2026
A stacked area chart showing the share of CPI items by 12-month price growth category from 2016 through September 2026. The share of items with inflation below 2% has declined to 38%, while items growing 2-4% sit at 32% and items growing 4% or more sit at 30%, following a sharp spike in the 4%+ category during 2022.
State of the Labor Market
US Labor Market Snapshot — October 2026
Infographic titled “US Labor Market Snapshot, October 2026: Key indicators from the Indeed Hiring Lab,” presenting six statistics and a bar chart. The Job Postings Index (JPI) is 103.8, up 0.3% month-over-month. Year-over-year JPI growth is +2.8%, up from -8.1% in October 2025. Posted wage growth is 2.4% year-over-year, against CPI inflation of 3.7%. The unemployment rate is 4.2%, compared with a 2019 average of 3.7%. Openings per unemployed worker stand at 1.0, below the 2019 level of about 1.2. AI-related postings make up 7.3% of all postings, past their previous peak of 3.3% in 2022. A horizontal bar chart below ranks the JPI of selected sectors: Engineering highest at about 145, followed by Healthcare at about 131, Production & Manufacturing at about 124, Human Resources at about 99, and Software Development lowest at about 79. Source: Indeed.
By Indeed Hiring Lab - October 22, 2026
Infographic titled “US Labor Market Snapshot, October 2026: Key indicators from the Indeed Hiring Lab,” presenting six statistics and a bar chart. The Job Postings Index (JPI) is 103.8, up 0.3% month-over-month. Year-over-year JPI growth is +2.8%, up from -8.1% in October 2025. Posted wage growth is 2.4% year-over-year, against CPI inflation of 3.7%. The unemployment rate is 4.2%, compared with a 2019 average of 3.7%. Openings per unemployed worker stand at 1.0, below the 2019 level of about 1.2. AI-related postings make up 7.3% of all postings, past their previous peak of 3.3% in 2022. A horizontal bar chart below ranks the JPI of selected sectors: Engineering highest at about 145, followed by Healthcare at about 131, Production & Manufacturing at about 124, Human Resources at about 99, and Software Development lowest at about 79. Source: Indeed.
State of the Labor Market
Seasonal Hiring Is Off to a Fast Start, With an Eye Toward 2027
A warehouse worker in a high-visibility vest reaches up to place a cardboard box on a shelf, smiling, with warehouse racking and skylights visible above.
By Cory Stahle - October 15, 2026
A warehouse worker in a high-visibility vest reaches up to place a cardboard box on a shelf, smiling, with warehouse racking and skylights visible above.
State of the Labor Market
September 2026 Jobs Report: Steadiness Without a Spark
A bar chart titled
By Cory Stahle - October 2, 2026
A bar chart titled
State of the Labor Market
August 2026 JOLTS Report: Little Change, Limited Dynamism 
Line chart titled “The vacancy yield has fallen in recent months” shows the hires per job opening as a 3-month moving average from January 2018 to August 2026, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The series has been rising since 2022, with hires per job opening stabilizing around 0.75 throughout 2025 and 2026. However, in recent months, the vacancy yield has fallen to 0.71.
By Cory Stahle - September 29, 2026
Line chart titled “The vacancy yield has fallen in recent months” shows the hires per job opening as a 3-month moving average from January 2018 to August 2026, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The series has been rising since 2022, with hires per job opening stabilizing around 0.75 throughout 2025 and 2026. However, in recent months, the vacancy yield has fallen to 0.71.
State of the Labor Market
Economists See Slightly Steadier Hiring Ahead, but Offer an AI Wage Warning for College Grads
A person rests their chin on their hand while typing on a laptop at a table, with a tablet displaying data charts, a mug, and notebooks nearby, and a second person standing in the background.
By Laura Ullrich & Svenja Gudell - September 24, 2026
A person rests their chin on their hand while typing on a laptop at a table, with a tablet displaying data charts, a mug, and notebooks nearby, and a second person standing in the background.
State of the Labor Market
US Labor Market Snapshot — September 2026
Infographic titled
By Indeed Hiring Lab - September 24, 2026
Infographic titled
1
2
3
…
46
Next Page