An End-of-Year Review of the US Job Market
The job market is ever-changing, and often this can adversely affect the efforts of job seekers. In what is already a challenging and arduous endeavor, when job markets shrink, there is less demand for new workers and vice versa.
On top of that, the number of job seekers is ever-growing, as the age of retirement increases and people grow up to working age. And with inflation on the increase, that can also lead to a growing job market, in the short term.
Regardless of the state of the job market or what stage you are in your job search, you should make yourself aware of the tools out there to help you find the job opportunities best suited to you.
Following on from our index at the beginning of 2022, covering the final two quarters of 2021, this update will look at the first three quarters of 2022. With inflation on the rise worldwide, and the US not being exempt, there are somewhat uncertain times ahead for the job market. This refresh will provide an insight into the state of the US job market as the year comes to an end.
Without further ado, let’s see what the current trends are in the job market and what the landscape looks like going into 2023.
The States with the Most Job Opportunities
This section shows the number of unique job listings per state, which indicates where the most economic activity is taking place and therefore which states are the most desirable for job seekers.
- California
Unique Job Listings: 5,666,484
The state with the highest number of unique job listings is California, coming in with more than 5.6 million listings, compared to its approximately 8.3 million in our prior index. However, the state is an established economic giant and home to many big companies, such as tech giants Apple and Google.
- Texas
Unique Job Listings: 4,182,410
As it did in the previous index, Texas comes in second, right behind California, with more than 4.1 million listings during the first three quarters of 2022. This is again, a decrease from more than 5.9 million previously. However, Texas has an economy bigger than some countries, such as Spain, Australia, and Mexico.
- Florida
Unique Job Listings: 3,008,424
Replacing New York for third place, we have Florida, with just over 3 million unique job listings, previously it was ranked fourth with more than 4.2 million job listings. The state has a great economy, especially in the tourism and agriculture industries, and is currently the 15th biggest economy in the world.
The States with the Most Job Opportunities per 100,000 People
To account for the larger states, we have also calculated the number of unique job listings per 100,000 of each state’s population. This allows us to see the number of job listings in relation to the amount of competition one might face.
- District of Columbia
Unique Job Listings per 100,000 People: 34,726
The District of Columbia comes out on top as the state with the highest number of job listings per 100,000 people, with 34,726 listings. Previously, the District of Columbia placed fourth, so this is a dramatic increase for the first three quarters of 2022. It placed 42nd overall, but with the small population, you’re much less likely to face as fierce competition as California, for example.
- Vermont
Unique Job Listings per 100,000 People: 29,772
In our previous index, Vermont ranked number one but has since fallen to number two during the first three quarters of 2022, with 29,772 per 100,000 of its population. Two of the biggest companies in the state are UMV Medical Center and Howe Library.
- New Hampshire
Unique Job Listings per 100,000 People: 25,168
Coming in third is New Hampshire with 25,168 unique job listings per 100,000 of its population, previously it ranked seventh. The state is home to Dartmouth College, and its biggest industries are tourism and mineral production, specifically sand, stone, and gravel.
The Industries That Are Hiring the Most in Every State
Ordinarily, there is quite a variety of industries that are the most in-demand from state to state, as shown in our previous index. However, this year more than 50% of the states have healthcare practitioners and technical occupations as the industry that is hiring the most, likely due to the various illnesses at large currently.
Previously, the most in-demand industry was transportation and material moving occupations, with it being the most hiring industry in exactly twenty states. And second, was management occupations, coming out as the most in-demand industry in twelve states.
Regardless, these are the top hiring industries in each state in the US, from this you will be able to see which state is the most desirable for your career needs and goals.
The 50 Most Sought-After Jobs in the US
To see which jobs in the US are the most desirable, we have analyzed and measured the number of clicks that various jobs receive, in this case for the first three quarters of 2022. As it may suggest, the more clicks a role receives, the higher the interest in that particular job. Here, you can see the jobs that placed within the top 50 for the US.
Unchanged from the previous index, the first spot for the most desirable jobs in the US is occupied by customer service representatives. In the second place, we have warehouse associate replacing receptionist. And in third, we have the unchanged data entry clerk.
States with the Most Job Clicks
Here, you can see the states with the most job searches for the first three quarters of 2022. The number of clicks that each state receives for job searches, is potentially indicative of the number of jobseekers that a state has. However, it may also offer a further indication of which states you may struggle with the most to land a job.
Replacing the previously first-ranked Texas, California now ranks number one for the most job searches for the first nine months of 2022. Texas has moved down into second and having retained its third place from the previous index, we have Florida.
Cities with the Most Job Clicks
We have also measured the number of job clicks on a city-to-city basis, to give you a more precise idea of the best locations for job seekers. Below, you can see the top 100 cities in the US with the most job clicks.
Keeping its place in the number one spot, we have New York City, the increase in job clicks could be related to the increase in inflation and also the supply and demand of goods. Also maintaining its spot, we have Houston, Texas.
The Most Popular Companies for Applicants
For this section, we looked at the specific companies that are receiving the most clicks from job seekers. This could indicate that they are some of the most popular companies to work for in the US, or perhaps that they are a large part of the economy. Below, you can see the top 50 companies with the most clicks in the US.
With that said, e-commerce giant Amazon retains its number one spot. Already established as a massive part of the US economy, it comes as no surprise, considering the sheer scale of Amazon’s operations. Virtual Vocations Inc. also keeps its place in second, while FedEx Ground has been replaced by United Parcel Service Inc. in third place.
Most Attractive Industries in 2022
In this section, we can see the click increase from companies in various industries from Q1 of 2022 through to Q3 of the same year. This data indicates the industries that are increasing in popularity and perhaps in job demand.
In the previous index update, the Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations industry saw the biggest increase, however, it now ranks at the bottom showing a 59% decrease.
The industry now seeing the most growth in popularity and demand is Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations, with a 96% from Q1 2022 to Q3 2022. With restaurants and other such establishments now fully operable, it would seem the demand for food and service has increased quite a bit, post-COVID.
Methodology
Our aim was to update our previous index with more recent data, from Q1 2022 to Q3 2022. To do this we used our own internal data from the Lensa website, recording the number of clicks various industries and companies received. We also did this for specific job titles, to find the 50 most in-demand jobs in the US.
We also included a state and city breakdown of the number of job listings available in those locations. Additionally, we looked at the industry’s increase in popularity via the increase in clicks they received from Q1 2022 to Q3 2022.
We then used World Population Review to get population data for each state to calculate the total volume of job listings per 100,000 of the population for each state.
