January 2020 Monthly Recap

Here at LinkUp we monitor and analyze our job listing data each month to extract insights and discover trends worth sharing. Here are some highlights from January 2020:

Job listings were up 4.6% nationwide in January, with Maryland seeing the greatest increase (+7.3%) and North Dakota seeing the largest decline (-4.5%).

Job numbers do typically increase in January with fresh annual recruiting budgets and a rebound from the December lull following holiday hiring. The real question is how did this January perform in relation to previous years? The answer is right on par. On average job listings have increased 3.4% each January over the past 4 years, so slightly below this year’s 4.6% increase.

Precision prediction
While January’s increase in job listings was as anticipated, the recent jobs report from the Department of Labor was stronger than expected, stating 225,000 jobs were added to the economy. Impressively, LinkUp CEO, Toby Dayton, used our own job data and model to accurately forecast that exact 225,000 jobs number in his post the day prior.

A macro view
If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our recently released Economic Indicators Report. It is a quarterly report that assesses job market resilience using LinkUp’s extensive database of job market data and exclusive statistical methodology. Some Q4 2019 highlights:

• Unique active job listings dropped nearly 8% (that’s 2% more than in Q4 2018)
• 91% of occupations saw declines
• Job duration was up 7 days in Q4 2019

What we’re watching

How will the coronavirus affect jobs? As China suffers through the worst of it, impacts on production and exports are spreading. Dependency on Chinese-made parts runs deep. Delayed production is already affecting everything from the automotive industry to tech, including bottom lines and the stock market. How long will it continue to affect jobs in China? Will this bring back jobs to America, as some suggest? We’ll keep monitoring this situation and report back.

Know more with job data

Interested in the job data behind this newsletter? Contact us to learn more.