In the aftermath of the COVID-19 recession, the U.S. job market experienced an unprecedented surge. Workers wielded significant bargaining power, giving rise to terms like the “Great Resignation” and “quiet quitting” as unemployment reached its lowest level in 54 years.
However, the situation has shifted. The job market has gradually weakened over the past few months, as highlighted by the latest employment report. In July, the economy added only 114,000 jobs, well below expectations and marking the third instance in the past eight months where job growth fell short of 200,000. Simultaneously, the unemployment rate unexpectedly climbed by 0.2 percentage points to 4.3 percent.
Despite this slowdown, many workers remain undeterred in their pursuit of new opportunities. According to Bankrate’s recent Employment Security Survey, nearly 48 percent of those currently employed or seeking full-time work plan to search for new jobs within the next year. Additionally, many respondents indicated that they intend to negotiate for higher pay and greater work flexibility in the coming months.
“This is not the red-hot job market that coincided with the economy’s reopening a couple of years ago,” said Mark Hamrick, Senior Economic Analyst at Bankrate. “Instead, it more closely resembles the conditions we saw before the pandemic.”
The current job market, while cooling, still offers opportunities, but it reflects a return to pre-pandemic dynamics rather than the extraordinary conditions seen in recent years.
