We regularly update this report to track the pandemic’s effects on the labor market. 

Job postings on Indeed are a real-time measure of labor market activity. On September 24, 2021, they were 43.6% above February 1, 2020, the pre-pandemic baseline, after adjusting for seasonal variation. Postings were up 1.2 percentage points in the past week.

Line graph titled “Job postings on Indeed, United States.”
Line graph titled “Job postings on Indeed, United States.” With a vertical axis ranging from -40% to 40%, Indeed tracked the percent change in job postings between February 1, 2020 and September 24, 2021. On September 24, 2021, job postings were 43.6% above February 1, 2020, the pre-pandemic baseline. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 10.9 million job openings at the end of July in its latest JOLTS report. Job postings on Indeed increased 6.1% between July 31 and September 24. If JOLTS openings have grown since July 31 at the same rate as Indeed job postings, that implies 11.6 million job openings as of September 24.

Lots of postings for warehouse and HR jobs

Job postings in nearly all sectors are above the pre-pandemic baseline, led by loading & stocking and human resources. Pharmacy jobs have also increased as vaccination rates rise and flu season approaches. Job postings flattened in some in-person sectors like food prep, hospitality & tourism, and sports as the delta variant surged.

Table titled “Some sectors have been hit harder than others.”
Table titled “Some sectors have been hit harder than others.” Indeed compared the percent change in US job postings, between February 1, 2020, and September 24, 2021 across various sectors divided into sections “Better than economy average,” “Similar to economy average,” and “Worse than economy average.” Loading & stocking and human resources jobs are highest relative to baseline. 

Human resources jobs are far above baseline, as employers are eager to hire the people who will help them hire others. HR job postings are 87% above baseline and have climbed several points higher than four weeks ago.

Line graph titled “HR job postings up sharply.”
Line graph titled “HR job postings up sharply.” With a vertical axis ranging from -80% to 100%, Indeed tracked the percent change in job postings between February 1, 2020 and September 24, 2021 with lines representing “overall” and “HR.” HR jobs are ahead of the overall trend.

Job postings have climbed in both in-person and work-from-home sectors. That’s a change from earlier in the pandemic, when low-remote postings recovered first and strongest. The shift to remote work in the pandemic created jobs in sectors that supported the stay-at-home economy, like driving and warehouse jobs, that aren’t themselves work-from-home jobs.

Line graph titled “Job postings by occupation remote-work share.”
Line graph titled “Job postings by occupation remote-work share.” With a vertical axis ranging from -60% to 60%, Indeed tracked the percent change in job postings between February 1, 2020 and September 24, 2021 with lines representing “low remote”, “medium remote”, and “high remote.” Job postings are up in both in-person and work-from-home sectors. 

Metros where job postings have recovered more slowly

Within the US, job postings are up essentially everywhere. Except for Honolulu, postings are at least 20% above the pre-pandemic baseline in all large metros.

Table titled “Metros with slowest growth in job postings.”
Table titled “Metros with slowest growth in job postings.” Indeed listed the US metros with the largest declines in job postings between February 1, 2020 and September 24, 2021. Job postings are back above baseline in all large metros. 

Job postings are now up almost as much in large metros as in smaller metros. The gap has narrowed from earlier in the pandemic, when postings rebounded first and fastest in the smallest metros.

Line graph titled “Job postings up in places large and small.”
Line graph titled “Job postings up in places large and small.” With a vertical axis ranging from -50% to 50%, Indeed tracked the percent change in job postings between February 1, 2020 and September 24, 2021 with lines representing small, medium, larger, and largest metros. Job postings increased first in the smallest metros, but more recently the gap between small and large metros has narrowed. 

We host the underlying job-postings chart data on Github as downloadable CSV files. Typically, it will be updated with the latest data one day after this blog post was published.

Methodology

All figures in this blog post are the percentage change in seasonally-adjusted job postings since February 1, 2020, using a seven-day trailing average. February 1, 2020, is our pre-pandemic baseline. We seasonally adjust each series based on historical patterns in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Each series, including the national trend, occupational sectors, and sub-national geographies, is seasonally adjusted separately. We adopted this new methodology in January 2021. Data for June 24-30, 2021, are missing and were interpolated.

Indeed no longer allows Colorado jobs that ask the candidate to disclose their previous salaries. This has a meaningful effect on our postings in the state of Colorado and its metros, though not on our national totals.

The number of job postings on Indeed.com, whether related to paid or unpaid job solicitations, is not indicative of potential revenue or earnings of Indeed, which comprises a significant percentage of the HR Technology segment of its parent company, Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. Job posting numbers are provided for information purposes only and should not be viewed as an indicator of performance of Indeed or Recruit. Please refer to the Recruit Holdings investor relations website and regulatory filings in Japan for more detailed information on revenue generation by Recruit’s HR Technology segment.