The Great Resignation is cooling off. Demand for workers in certain pandemic-hot sectors — especially tech — is down sharply from last year, per job site Indeed's latest numbers.
Why it matters: Big Tech went on a hiring binge over the past year, as Axios' Ina Fried reports. Now the diet begins. The industry is in "belt-tightening" mode — with hiring freezes and even layoffs on the menu, she writes.
- The industry's woes could be an early indicator of what's to come in the broader labor market, which has so far stayed strong despite other worrying signs in the economy.
Fewer job openings mean less demand for workers. It's also an indicator that folks won't be able to job-hop their way to the kind of sky-high pay increases certain professionals scored in 2021.
- Back then, if you played it right, you could basically name your price.
Zoom out: Lower demand means slowing wage growth — which, as we say on repeat here at Markets, is what the Federal Reserve wants in its fight against inflation.
- That's already happening. The Employment Cost Index, out Friday, showed wage growth falling in the third quarter — though still relatively high.
- Fewer workers are quitting their jobs for better prospects, ZipRecruiter's chief economist Julia Pollak said in a note, with a chart titled, "The Great Resignation is coming to an end."
- Not only are there fewer jobs on offer, but workers are nervous. "Amid increased fears of a possible recession, employees are prioritizing job security over pay," she writes.
Details: The five occupations that saw the biggest declines in demand were in areas where remote work really took off, including software development, marketing, and math-related roles (think data science or analysts).
- There was a 27% decline in human resource job listings. "If you're looking to hire fewer HR people, that probably means you're looking to hire fewer people in general," says Nick Bunker, Indeed's economic research director for North America.
- Bunker says another area where demand for workers is falling is in warehousing.
Yes, but: While overall job listings are down 9% on Indeed this year, they're still 50% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
- "There's still a relative bounty of job openings — it's just not as bountiful," Bunker says.
