These days, job hunting may feel like something of a paradox: Even though the overall market is strong, it can be tough for jobseekers to find a new gig, according to economists.
Unemployment was relatively low in April, at 4.2%, and job growth exceeded expectations. The layoff rate is historically low, meaning those with jobs are holding onto them.
Yet it has gotten harder to find new work.
Businesses are hiring at their slowest pace since 2014. Nearly 1 in 4 jobless workers, 23.5%, are long-term unemployed — meaning they’ve been out of work for more than six months — up from 19.6% a year ago.
Cory Stahle, an economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab, called it a “low firing, low hiring trend” in a note on Friday.There’s a “growing divide” in the labor market between those out of work and those who are employed, Stahle wrote.
The changing market conditions may feel jarring for job seekers, given that a few years ago there were record-high job openings and workers were quitting at record levels amid ample opportunity.
“This is just how it is right now: Companies are not hiring,” said Mandi Woodruff-Santos, a career coach and personal finance expert. “If they are, it’s very infrequent.”
Economic headwinds like trade wars and tumbling consumer confidence may make job-finding more difficult in coming months, economists said.
“The market can’t escape the consequences of rapidly souring business and consumer confidence forever,” Stahle wrote.
