Hiring may pick up in the fall, but the job market is tough this year

“In many of these industries, gains were forecast. They seem to be slowing down, and that’s creating fewer jobs,” he said.

Already, U.S. job openings are at their lowest level since early 2021, and many employers are taking their time to bring on new people. While this slow hiring pace makes the fall feel less robust than in some years, Mullinix said there are steps job seekers can take to stand out.

This is welcome news as the job search can take many months. In fact, the number of job seekers landing their next role within three months fell 14 percent in 2024 compared to 2022, according to Live Data Technologies, which provides real-time employment figures.

Mullinix noted that some employers are switching to contract and freelance work to avoid taking on the cost of a full-time worker who would get benefits.

Of course, the overall unemployment rate remains low and there are still areas where employers can’t find the talent they need. In addition, parts of the economy could heat up further, especially after the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates for the first time in four years in an effort to stamp out high inflation.

Startups could provide a boost

Atli Thorkelsson, who helps startups recruit at venture capital firm Redpoint Ventures, told BI that he expects startup hiring to prove “quite active” for the second half of 2024.

“We’ve heard a lot from recruiting firms that they’re very busy,” he said, adding, “I’m seeing an increase in search requests coming from our founders as well.”

Thorkelsson said that startup hiring started to pick up last September and that for many small companies, growth has been cautious but notable in terms of demand for people.

However, in other corners of the economy, employer caution is winning out – for now. This causes some to list fewer jobs.

“Companies are more cautious,” Mullinix said.

One challenge is that with fewer jobs, the number of applicants on the roll can pile up, he said. This can, of course, make it difficult for job seekers and recruiters who have to sift through a ton of applications. Large companies, in particular, tend to use software to sort resumes. A large number of applicants can lead to some difficult decisions, Mullinix said.

Recruiters “process a little harder so they don’t have to go through 1,000 applications,” he said, adding, “Realistically, they couldn’t do that in a day.”

And while the unemployment rate is low, that doesn’t mean only the unemployed are browsing the job listings.

“Even people who are currently employed are not happy with the jobs they have,” Mullinix said. He said inflation has angered some workers that their wages haven’t always kept up with expenses.

Now, as people stay in jobs longer than they did a few years ago during the so-called Great Recession, some of them are becoming dissatisfied, he said.

“The problem is that you have job seekers who are both employed and then unemployed, looking at the same time in a market where supply is down and demand is up,” Mullinix said.

This is especially true for high-paying jobs, he said.

Don’t shoot him, but don’t hold back too long

Mullinix said it’s possible to apply to too many jobs — and not enough. He said the mass approach of opting for every job where applying is a single click often isn’t as effective because so many people end up fighting for the same role.

Instead, he said, it’s wise to be more deliberate and choose those for whom you might be best qualified. It also takes the tedious work out of filling out applications that aren’t one-click away, Mullinix said. That often means wading through clunky software interfaces.

“This is the same process everyone else has to go through,” he said. “That’s going to eliminate some candidates right there and it’s going to be a less competitive job.”

And just because the job title in a posting might be different from what you’ve had before, it’s often a good idea to apply if you have the right skills and qualifications, Mullinix said.

“Companies call things 100 different ways,” he said.

Mullinix said that given how unpleasant the search process can be, it’s understandable that job seekers would gravitate toward the easiest method to apply.

“Searching for jobs online is not the most fun activity,” he said, noting that it tends to rank poorly in surveys. “It’s close to being divorced on the pleasure scale.”