Takeaways: 

  • The consistent decline in job postings that began in early 2022 showed signs of leveling off in Q3 2024. As of Oct.18, job postings were 10.8% above pre-pandemic levels. 
  • Postings for Hospitality & Tourism roles were down  20.7% year-over-year as of Oct. 18.  
  • Posted wage growth for Retail and Food Preparation & Service roles has leveled off in recent months.
  • Pay transparency climbed in Retail and Hospitality & Tourism postings, but dropped in Food Service & Preparation. 
Video of Indeed Hiring Lab Sr. Economist Daniel Culbertson discussing the 2024 Labor Market Update Q3 with a focus on the Retail vertical.

Indeed job postings 

Despite being down 12.9% from a year earlier, the US Indeed Job Posting Index (JPI) remained 10.8% above pre-pandemic levels as of Oct. 18. And after declining consistently since early 2022, the US JPI showed signs of stabilization over the summer, hovering in a tight range between 10% and 13% above pre-pandemic norms for several months. This suggests the cooling in demand for workers over the past several years has paused, at least for now, leaving some employers facing a bit less competition when looking to make hires. 

Line graph titled “US job postings remain 10.8% above the pre-pandemic baseline” shows the change in Indeed job postings since their pre-pandemic baseline, through Oct. 18, 2024. The vertical axis ranges from 0 to 150 and the horizontal axis ranges from February 2020 to October 2024. A blue line shows US job postings have fallen 12.9% over the past year.
Line graph titled “US job postings remain 10.8% above the pre-pandemic baseline” shows the change in Indeed job postings since their pre-pandemic baseline, through Oct. 18, 2024. US job postings have fallen 12.9% over the past year.

Retail job postings 

Most categories across the Retail vertical are moving largely in step with the overall labor market. As of Oct. 18, job postings in the Food Preparation & Service and Retail segments were both down by about 10% from the last year but remain about 10% above their pre-pandemic baseline. However, Hospitality & Tourism job postings are still lagging behind the overall labor market, declining 20.7% over the past year, leaving them 19.2% below their pre-pandemic baseline. 

Table titled “Hospitality & Tourism leads posting declines in retail vertical” shows job posting trends over the past year through Oct. 18, 2024, and from the pre-pandemic baseline, for several Retail occupations. Food Preparation & Service job postings decreased 10.2% over the past year but remained up 10.4% from their pre-pandemic baseline.
Table titled “Hospitality & Tourism leads posting declines in retail vertical” shows job posting trends over the past year through Oct. 18, 2024, and from the pre-pandemic baseline, for several Retail occupations. Food Preparation & Service job postings decreased 10.2% over the past year but remained up 10.4% from their pre-pandemic baseline.

Retail wage growth

The Indeed Wage Tracker shows that overall wage growth has, for now, leveled off, and pay trends in the Retail category have followed closely. Over the past few months, year-over-year wage growth in Retail and Food Preparation & Service has remained relatively consistent, notching gains of 2.1% and 2.5%, respectively, in September. Annual wage growth in both categories is slower than the labor market average of 3.3%.  

Line graph titled “Retail and Food Preparation & Service wage growth stabilizes." The vertical axis ranges from 0 to 15%, and the horizontal axis shows dates. Different colored lines represent wage growth for Food Preparation and service and Retail. 
Line graph titled “Retail and Food Preparation & Service wage growth stabilizes.” The vertical axis ranges from 0 to 15%, and the horizontal axis shows dates. Different colored lines represent wage growth for Food Preparation and service and Retail. 

Retail pay transparency

While momentum towards higher levels of pay transparency may have slowed, a clear majority (57.8%) of job postings on Indeed featured information on wage or salary in September. While Hospitality & Tourism postings list pay information at a higher rate than the overall labor market, pay transparency lags in Retail and Food Preparation & Service postings. Moreover, Food Preparation & Service was one of the few sectors where pay transparency dropped from September 2023 to September 2024, falling by 2.1 percentage points. 

Table titled “Pay transparency dips in Driving and Food Preparation & Service postings” shows pay transparency data for September 2023, September 2024, and the percentage point change over the course of that year, for several Retail occupations. In September 2024, Retail and Hospitality & Tourism had pay information in 55.1% and 60.9% of job postings, respectively.
Table titled “Pay transparency dips in Driving and Food Preparation & Service postings” shows pay transparency data for September 2023, September 2024, and the percentage point change over the course of that year, for several Retail occupations. In September 2024, Retail and Hospitality & Tourism had pay information in 55.1% and 60.9% of job postings, respectively.

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