The Indeed Hiring Lab tracks business-to-business (B2B) employment trends, analyzing the latest Indeed data. We examine overall labor market trends and dive deeper into job posting trends in various B2B occupational categories. Finally, we focus on recent developments in layoffs and worker turnover.

Takeaways: 

• Total job postings on Indeed are down 12.4% from July 5, 2023, as the labor market continues to moderate. 
• After a rough two years, the decline in Software Development job postings has mostly leveled off. 
• Wage growth in most B2B categories continues to slow, with only Software Development wages picking up steam over the last six months. 

Indeed job postings 

The broad moderation in the labor market persisted through the second quarter. As of July 5, 2024, the Indeed Job Postings Index (JPI) was down 12.4% from the same time last year, and the labor market is nearing its pre-pandemic level after more than two years of near-continuous declines. The JPI stood at 111.7 on July 5, meaning the total level of job postings nationwide is 11.7% above their pre-pandemic (Feb. 1, 2020) baseline.  

Software Development job postings 

After an incredible run-up in demand during the early pandemic recovery, job postings for Software Development roles suffered an equally stark plunge in 2022 and 2023. The worst of the decline appears to be past, with the 15.5% year-over-year drop in Software Development job postings roughly equal to the decline in postings overall over the same period. But demand for software developers remains relatively weak, with job postings down 31.4% from their pre-pandemic baseline (as of July 5). 

Business-to-business postings 

Job posting trends are varied across the rest of the B2B category. Insurance and Education & Instruction are among the few categories in the labor market still adding job postings year-over-year. Meanwhile, Production & Manufacturing job postings led declines in the category, dropping 21.9% from July 5, 2023.  

B2B wage growth 

The Indeed Wage Tracker shows pay gains across the broader labor market leveling off, but most categories in B2B are experiencing slowing wage growth. Production & Manufacturing wage growth has slowed the most, down 1.1 percentage points in the six months through June 2024. In further signs of normalization, Software Development wage growth increased 1.6 percentage points in the six months up through June 2024, pushing year-over-year growth to 1.9%, closer to the current labor market average of 3.1%

For more labor market insights from the Indeed Hiring Lab, visit us at hiringlab.org.