Takeaways: 

  • The overall labor market continues to moderate, with total job postings down 12.4% from July 5, 2023.  
  • Therapy jobs remain a bright spot in the labor market, one of the few categories still adding postings year-over-year.
  • Wage growth is mostly consistent across healthcare categories, with the exception of Medical Technician and Therapy roles, which show considerable slowing. 

Indeed job postings 

The broad moderation in the labor market persisted through the second quarter. As of July 5, 2024, the Indeed Job Postings Index (JPI) was down 12.4% from the same time last year, and the labor market is nearing its pre-pandemic level after more than two years of near-continuous declines. The JPI stood at 111.7 on July 5, meaning that the total level of job postings nationwide is 11.7% above their pre-pandemic (Feb. 1, 2020) baseline.

Line graph titled “US job postings down 12.4% year-over-year” showing the change in Indeed job postings since their pre-pandemic baseline, through July 5th, 2024. US job postings have fallen 12.4% over the past year.
Line graph titled “US job postings down 12.4% year-over-year” shows the change in Indeed job postings since their pre-pandemic baseline, through July 5th, 2024. US job postings have fallen 12.4% over the past year.

Healthcare job postings 

Demand for healthcare workers is relatively healthy (as is typically the case), with job postings in all categories above their pre-pandemic level. However, trends over the past year differ greatly across healthcare job categories. Therapy is one of the few categories in the labor market still adding job postings, and year-over-year declines in Physicians & Surgeon and Personal Care & Home Health job postings are more tepid than declines in the overall labor market. But job postings in the remaining healthcare categories — Pharmacy in particular — have fallen further than the 12.4% year-over-year decline observed in the broader labor market. 

Table titled “Therapy one of few occupations still adding job postings” showing job posting trends over the past year through July 5, 2024, and from the pre-pandemic baseline, for several healthcare occupations. Therapy job postings increased 9.9% over the past year while nursing job postings fell by 18%.
Table titled “Therapy one of few occupations still adding job postings” shows job posting trends over the past year through July 5, 2024, and from the pre-pandemic baseline, for several healthcare occupations. Therapy job postings increased 9.9% over the past year while nursing job postings fell by 18%.

Healthcare wage growth

The Indeed Wage Tracker shows pay gains across the broader labor market leveling off, but a couple of Healthcare categories buck that trend. Wage growth for Medical Technician and Therapy postings continues to soften, down 1.7 and 1.8 percentage points, respectively, in the six months through June 2024.  Annual wage growth in a few fields, including Dental and Personal Care & Home Health, is above the labor market average, at 4.8% and 3.2%, respectively. Meanwhile, year-year wage growth for Medical Technician, Therapy, and Nursing postings are all below the labor market average of 3.1%.  

Table titled “Wage growth above average in most healthcare categories” showing year-over-year growth in posted wages through June 2024, and the percentage point change in the past six months, by job category. Therapy and Nursing wages have grown 2.4% and 2.1% year-over-year, respectively.
Table titled “Wage growth above average in most healthcare categories” shows year-over-year growth in posted wages through June 2024, and the percentage point change in the past six months, by job category. Therapy and Nursing wages have grown 2.4% and 2.1% year-over-year, respectively.

For more labor market insights from the Indeed Hiring Lab, visit us at hiringlab.org.