We're in a 'hiring recession,' economist says — how job seekers can stand out

A cooling labour market, characterized by sluggish hiring and anemic occupation creation, made it hard for occupation seekers to find enactment successful 2025, according to economists.

"It's just to accidental that 2025 was a hiring recession successful the United States," Heather Long, main economist astatine Navy Federal Credit Union, wrote successful a enactment Friday. That recession affects some blue- and white-collar workers, she wrote.

U.S. employers added 584,000 jobs past year, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics study issued Friday. That marks the worst twelvemonth for full occupation gains extracurricular of a recession since 2003, according to Long. There has been small occupation instauration since April, meaning astir gains took spot aboriginal successful the year, she wrote.

Most hiring has besides been concentrated successful the health-care sector, making it hard for workers to enactment crossed the wide labour market, economists said.

"Healthcare unsocial accounted for astir 69% of each occupation maturation crossed 2025," Nicole Bachaud, a labour economist astatine vocation tract ZipRecruiter, wrote successful a enactment Friday. "The reliance connected a azygous manufacture to support occupation maturation affirmative uncovers the unstable instauration successful play going into 2026."

Long-term unemployment has besides climbed. In December, 26% of each unemployed workers had been retired of enactment for astatine slightest six months, the highest share since February 2022, according to the BLS.

That suggests "unemployment is progressively becoming a imperishable authorities alternatively than a impermanent transition," Bachaud said.

On Wednesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the hiring complaint had fallen to 3.2% successful November. That's 1 of the lowest rates since 2013, according to Long.

Overall, the existent authorities of the labour marketplace shows a stark turnaround from the scorching marketplace of 2021 and 2022.

At that time, the alleged "great resignation" was successful afloat swing, with occupation openings astatine grounds highs, wage maturation astatine its highest successful decades and workers capable to permission their jobs successful droves for amended positions.

Economists called that labour market, successful which workers enjoyed sizeable leverage, unsustainable implicit the agelong run.

The Federal Reserve raised involvement rates to assistance chill the labour marketplace and rein successful inflation, which successful 2022 deed its highest level successful astir 4 decades.

Additionally, respective factors coalesced into an anemic hiring environment, Long wrote: economical argumentation specified arsenic tariffs, concern uncertainty, over-hiring successful caller years, and a reluctance to prosecute much workers until the usage cases for artificial quality go clearer.

While the hiring recession volition apt proceed successful the archetypal fractional of 2026, the 2nd fractional should beryllium amended for occupation seekers, owed to tax cuts, little involvement rates and a clearer tariff picture, Long wrote.

There are ways for occupation seekers to amended their chances astatine landing a caller position, adjacent successful a lackluster hiring environment, according to occupation experts.

1. Highlight your skills — and leverage AI to help

Employers and recruiters person gradually shifted to alleged "skills-based hiring," meaning they prioritize a candidate's skills and acquisition alternatively than acquisition attainment, said Sam DeMase, a vocation adept astatine ZipRecruiter.

ZipRecruiter information shows 88% of entry-level jobs omit grade requirements successful the occupation description, and astir 70% of precocious hired workers person little than a bachelor's degree, said DeMase.

"Many employers privation to prosecute folks who tin deed the crushed moving immediately," she said.

Job seekers should guarantee there's "strong" alignment betwixt the occupation statement and the acquisition and accomplishment sets they outline connected their resumes and screen letters, DeMase said.

This helps candidates basal retired with recruiters and marque it done the automated applicant tracking systems connected which employers progressively trust to benignant applications, she said.

DeMase gave an illustration of what candidates tin constitute to item worth proposition: "Using my inheritance successful X, I helped companies execute Y." For example: "Using my inheritance successful integer selling and extended inheritance successful information investigation and contented planning, I helped companies trade innovative campaigns that pull and delight the perfect assemblage and thrust revenue."

Generic skills statements similar "I person bully radical skills and attraction to detail" won't enactment good successful 2026, she said.

Priya Rathod, a vocation adept astatine occupation tract Indeed, recommends that applicants usage artificial quality to lucifer keywords successful occupation descriptions with those successful their resume. This helps applicants get done the archetypal circular of resume screening, she said.

2. Target occupation sectors that are growing

It's important for occupation seekers to travel leader demand, said Rathod.

Workers should people definite areas of the occupation marketplace that are growing, including wellness care, skilled trades, infrastructure and revenue-critical jobs, particularly wrong technology, she said.

"Getting hired successful 2026 isn't needfully astir applying everywhere," Rathod said. "It's truly astir aligning your skills and wherever employers are really investing."

For example, a idiosyncratic with a income inheritance whitethorn not person circumstantial acquisition successful health-care sales, but they tin play up their income skills successful an application, Rathod said.

Think astir transferable skills, and enactment to upskill via further credentials, licenses oregon certifications to capable successful immoderate gaps, she said.

3. Networking is your friend

Don't disregard the worth of networking, Rathod said.

Whether a idiosyncratic has a job, is unemployed, oregon has a part-time relation and is looking for full-time work, "networking is ever going to beryllium 1 of your champion friends," she said.

This tin instrumentality respective forms: Engaging with manufacture and assemblage organizations, and talking to friends and colleagues, either successful idiosyncratic oregon online, she said.

4. Ignore the one-page resume 'myth'

DeMase recommends definite nuts-and-bolts resume formatting guidelines to further assistance marque it done applicant tracking strategy firewalls.

For instance, resumes should beryllium successful a single-column format with intelligibly labeled sections, including a headline, astir me, achievements, enactment experience, areas of expertise and education, if applicable, she said.

Resumes don't request to beryllium constricted to 1 page.

"There's a story astir the one-page resume," she said. "Don't sacrifice acquisition to shorten your resume."

A resume tin beryllium 2 pages for radical with 5 to 10 years of experience, and 3 pages for those with much than 10 years of experience, DeMase said. These aren't hard and accelerated rules, however, and whitethorn disagree based connected industry.