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LinkUp released their March job numbers report;
The number of active job listings rose slightly by 0.4% to 7.31 million in Q1 2025, following a steep 8.3% decline in Q4. While modest, this uptick may reflect early stabilization efforts as firms cautiously resumed hiring.
- Volatility is king. Or is that Donald Trump? In the third month of 2025, we’re seeing a zig-zag pattern of labor demand—down 5 % one month, up 4% the next. Monthly variation is normal in a healthy job market, but these are woozier than normal swings. As trade policy hinges and shifts on one man’s whim, business decision makers are playing craps with staffing investments, balancing the competing possibilities that Trump’s tariffs are, a) a short-term negotiating tactic or, b) a long-term strategy to restore American manufacturing capacity.
- Paralytic tariffs. The delta between new and removed jobs had been in lockstep for most of 2025, following the typical new year hiring boom. Now, the gap between them is widening, with 25% more job removals than job creations in March. This fork indicates a significant pullback from planned hiring across the U.S. job market, a predictable effect of tariff uncertainty.
- DC labor woes. 49 of 50 states saw MoM increases in labor demand across most industries and occupations. Job openings in Arkansas remained flat. Only the nation’s capital charted a month of negative growth, with a 2% decline in job openings, mostly for public administration roles. It’s a strong reminder that DOGE’s moves are best tracked not on Elon’s X, but with real time labor demand data.
