Following a tumultuous 2023, experts are predicting that the labor market could begin to stabilize in the coming year, according to a Jan. 1 report from Forbes.
The unemployment rate has hit 3.7%, the Federal Reserve is considering interest rate cuts, and inflation is down to 3.1% from its peak of 9.1% in 2022.
Here are three labor trends employers, and employees, can expect to see in 2024, per Forbes:
Wages and raises will continue to slow: During the Great Resignation, when large numbers of employees quit their jobs in the wake of the pandemic, employers were paying more to persuade workers to stay. As quit rates decline and there is less competition for workers, employers can begin to slow merit wage increases and high starting salaries.
Hiring will slow: Companies slowed hiring in the second half of 2023, adding 63,000 fewer jobs in November 2023 than the same month a year prior.
Layoffs will remain low: Employers cut 45,510 jobs in November, down from 76,835 cut jobs a year prior. In October, the layoff rate was slightly below pre-pandemic figures. Experts predict the layoff rate to stay the same in 2024.