By Jeff Cox
For federal government workers who worked at agencies tied to this year’s job cuts, an apparent slowdown in the labor market is happening at the worst possible time.
A gradual pullback in hiring and job openings has come at the same time that hundreds of thousands of federal workers are out looking for employment, the casualty of layoffs recommended by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Although economists almost universally downplay it, one straw in the wind may have come Wednesday, when payrolls processor ADP said private sector hiring in June unexpectedly contracted by 33,000 jobs, far lower than economists’ estimate of 100,000.
And while the impact from the DOGE layoffs has been fairly muted so far in relation to total job growth, recent trends show that’s about to change, according to data from the Indeed Hiring Lab.
Weak white collar demand
“There are still a lot of questions about how that’s all going to trickle into the labor market. A lot of people are out there looking for work from the federal government,” Indeed senior economist Cory Stahle said. “The big question is whether or not they’re going to be able to find them given the weaker demand for the higher education, white-collar jobs now.”
From January through April of this year, the number of job openings fell by 5% while the hiring rate has hovered around levels last seen in 2014, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Disclaimer
The information contained in South Florida Reporter is for general information purposes only.
The South Florida Reporter assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in the contents of the Service.
In no event shall the South Florida Reporter be liable for any special, direct, indirect, consequential, or incidental damages or any damages whatsoever, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tort, arising out of or in connection with the use of the Service or the contents of the Service. The Company reserves the right to make additions, deletions, or modifications to the contents of the Service at any time without prior notice.
The Company does not warrant that the Service is free of viruses or other harmful components
