Weekly Hourly Hiring Report 9/28/21

How COVID-19 is affecting hourly work

Weekly Hourly Hiring Report 9/28/21

Highlights

Overall jobs are up 99% compared to pre-pandemic norms, with 9% month over month growth and 96% year over year growth. Google searches for hourly jobs are down 4% year over year. 

Labor participation in the United States is at one of the lowest points since the late 1950s— at under 62% of adults. Many economists are pinning their hopes of a recovery on how strong hiring is during the month of September as kids return to school and pandemic-era unemployment benefits have ended. This coming Friday’s Jobs Report should offer a clearer picture.

Lael Brainard, an American economist who has served on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors since 2014, said yesterday that companies and businesses are being put in a position to do more with fewer workers, whether that be through automation, more robotics, changing workflows or simply asking more of the people working.

She also said that ensuring access and availability for people to train and increase their workable skills will help address the issue in the long term. In the short term, companies are offering increased wages and benefits in order to obtain and retain workers.

Here’s what we’re tracking this week:

• Jobless claims climbed slightly last week but remained near pandemic lows, as demand for workers remains high.

• New filings for unemployment benefits have fallen steadily since mid-July as employers retain workers despite the Delta variant. Though economic recovery is showing signs it has been dented, all things considered recovery is holding up during the latest Covid-19 surge. 

The upcoming holiday season is here, adding to the hiring urgency and worker retention concerns for many.

Our Holiday Hiring 2021: A Quick Start Guide helps hourly employers and workers understand how to best prepare for the upcoming season amid current challenges. We surveyed thousands of hourly workers and employers, analyzed the macro economics and labor market projections, to create a data synthesis and quick start guide—everything you need and want to know. 

Jobs

All industry data is from 3/2/20-9/27/21

Here are the latest job numbers by industry:

Quick service restaurant (QSR) jobs are down 19% compared to pre-pandemic norms, flat month over month and seeing 10% year over year growth.

Sit-down restaurant jobs are down 34% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing 4% month over month growth and 13% year over year growth.

Warehouse and logistics jobs are up 336% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing 52% month over month growth and a 55% year over year decline.

Retail jobs are up 35% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing 32% month over month growth and 58% year over year growth.

Grocery jobs are up 93% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing 4% month over month decline and 44% year over year growth.

Hospitality jobs are up 316% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing a 32% month over month decline and 362% year over year growth.

On demand jobs are up 219% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing 5% month over month growth and 196% year over year growth.

Convenience store jobs are down 6% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing a 2% month over month decline and 11% year over year growth.

Healthcare jobs are up 129% compared to pre-pandemic norms, flat month over month decline and 119% year over year growth.

Workers

Google searches for hourly jobs are down 4% year over year.

The bottom line

We’ll continue to be your best resource for hourly job market insights as we collectively navigate towards our new normal and beyond.