There's one job for every two applicants right now — and other happenings in the world of work

Welcome back to The Work Shift, a weekly newsletter that keeps you informed about the economy, labor market and evolving world of work through data-driven insights. Click subscribe to be notified of future editions.

Catch up on headlines from the last 7 days.

• The U.S. economy added 236,000 jobs in March. Meanwhile, the number of job openings in the U.S. continues to slip. Read more about this below.
• Job ads can perpetuate ageism, according to new research from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco . Certain terms, like “digital native” and “dynamic,” can dissuade older workers from applying.?
• Meanwhile, older workers are a good bet for employers looking to fill roles — a recent Wall Street Journal survey of baby boomers found that they value hard work and stability and feel pressured to continue working.
• The market for AI jobs is hot despite a downturn in the tech industry. There were 800,000 AI job openings in 2022, according to a Stanford University report . California was the state with the most, followed by Texas, New York and Florida.
• Home prices are unexpectedly on the rise again, according to the National Association of Realtors . The reason is largely mortgage rate swings and low inventory — there were 27% fewer new listings in February compared to before the pandemic.?
• About 8 in 10 companies implemented diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in 2022, from starting employee resource groups to restrategizing hiring processes. Even still, just one-third of workers feel their workplaces are fair and equitable, largely because there’s no accountability around these initiatives, according to recent surveys from Gallup and Catalyst.?
• Two-thirds of workers would prefer a shorter week over a five-day hybrid schedule, and would even go into the office daily for it, according to a recent survey from recruitment company Hays. The reasoning boils down to mental health — respondents said the extra day to themselves would be motivating and curb burnout.

Take a closer look at recent trending topics — and engage with meaningful conversations happening on LinkedIn.

Some slack is coming back to the labor market

• The U.S. economy added 236,000 payrolls in March, the lowest monthly gain since December 2020, suggesting the Federal Reserve’s inflation-fighting campaign is moderating economic growth. Meanwhile, the latest Labor Department data also showed that the number of job openings in the U.S. continues to slip. Vacancies fell to 9.9 million in February from 10.6 million the previous month. That’s the first time the number has dipped under 10 million since May 2021.?
• LinkedIn data aligns with the slowdown appearing in Labor Department data. Hiring declined again in March by 0.6% month-over-month. That is, however, the smallest monthly decrease since hiring started falling in the spring of 2022, meaning the pace of decline is actually easing. Rand Ghayad, LinkedIn’s head of economics and global labor markets, dug into the numbers in his latest edition of The State of the Labor Market newsletter . “Although hiring slowdowns don’t necessarily indicate an impending recession, they are coinciding with other indicators that suggest a return of some slack to the labor market,” he wrote.?
• Job openings on LinkedIn have been slowing down and the ratio of openings to active applicants has also decreased. “Throughout most of 2022, there was nearly one job opening for every job seeker on LinkedIn, which meant that professionals largely had the edge in commanding higher salaries, better titles and more flexibility,” Ghayad continued.?
• Today, there’s one job opening for every two applicants. That means it still is a job seeker’s market, especially in certain industries. Take the hospitality industry for example , which can’t hire fast enough. The ratio of job openings to active applicants in accommodation exceeds pre-pandemic levels, LinkedIn data showed. Meanwhile, the Labor Department also found that the industry is a key driver of job growth, accounting for 30.5% of total jobs added in March.

Loneliness is steadily declining

• About 17% of Americans report feeling lonely, continuing a steady decline since early 2021, according to new research from Gallup . The last spike in loneliness largely coincided with the rise of social distancing and working from home due to the pandemic.?
• Those who still reported feeling lonely “a lot of the day yesterday” mostly included young adults and those in lower-income households. These groups are more likely to be unmarried and childless, two mitigating factors when it comes to loneliness. They were also disproportionately impacted by pandemic job loss that eliminated social time with coworkers.
• Marie Dupont, an entrepreneur, commented that loneliness likely also persists because of “the continued popularity of social media and virtual communication,” which is constantly changing “the way people interact socially in their daily lives.”
• Younger workers, in particular, are conscientious of how essential the way we work is to their wellbeing. Many Gen Zers are opting to go into the office in search of community, even when remote is an option. Stanford economist Nick Bloom commented that mentorship is one of the biggest selling points of a hybrid working model: “Office days for mentoring, innovation and building culture — home days for quiet, deep work and no commute.”

Face time with your boss is more important in some industries

• Most workers think it’s important to put in face time with their boss. According to LinkedIn’s latest Workforce Confidence survey, about 58% of workers say that being seen in person by your organization’s leadership is important to being recognized as a valuable employee. It also can combat loneliness, like we discussed above. The catch? This mindset differs by industry.
• Workers in construction (67%), oil, gas and mining (57%) and consumer services (66%) are the most likely to value in-person time with leadership. Face time is valued less in technology, information and media (50%), wholesale (53%), and professional services (54%). Other industries fall closer to the national average of 58%.
• “Strong personal connections are important for a high-functioning team in most industries, however, thanks to recent advances in remote tools and technology, it’s not necessary to be in the same building or room to build those connections,” Kicki Crozier, an employee training specialist, commented . Building a remote team “with a strong culture and sense of belonging” takes intentionality, she said.
• Brandon Hunter, a tech worker, commented that for him, this looks like getting remote teams together in person between two and four times a year: “Just enough time for us to start missing our fellow teammates and not enough to be annoyed by the typical office culture experience.” He said he views “in-office face time as a value-add,” and not necessarily critical to his success. The outcome of not stressing face time so much, he continued, includes reduced office drama and an improvement in his quality of life and work.

Get ready for the week by seeing what's coming up.

• Wednesday, April 12: The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the monthly Consumer Price Index for March, which measures inflation through the price of goods and services.
• Wednesday, April 12: LinkedIn Senior Editor at Large George Anders will release his latest edition of Workforce Insights , digging into AI skills.
• Thursday, April 13: The U.S. Department of Labor will release initial jobless claims for the previous week. The report, a proxy for layoffs, tracks the number of people filing for unemployment benefits.
• Thursday, April 13: The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the monthly Producer Price Index . Different from the Consumer Price Index, which lands earlier in the week, the report measures inflation based on costs to those who make products, not those who consume them.
• Friday, April 14: The U.S. Census Bureau will release its monthly retail sales report for February. The report is an indicator of consumer spending and general economic activity.
• Friday, April 14: The University of Michigan will release its preliminary reading of April’s Consumer Sentiment Index, which measures how Americans feel about current and future economic conditions.