September’s jobs report came in softer than expected: the U.S. added about 29,000 jobs, missing forecasts and showing a cooler labor market. At the same time, the overall picture is still broadly stable — this is a downshift, not a cliff. If you’re a job seeker or a hiring manager, that nuance matters. Headlines love drama. Most careers and hiring plans are built in the quieter middle ground where things are simply… slower, not broken. The labor market is cooling, not collapsing Adding around...

If you feel like the job market has been giving you mixed signals lately, you’re not alone. Indeed Hiring Lab’s September 2026 snapshot pulls together some of the clearest data we’ve got on US labor market conditions right now — from job postings and wage growth to the balance between employers and job seekers. As recruiters in the trenches every day, a lot of what’s in this report lines up with what we’re seeing across searches, shortlists, and offer stages. Job postings are steady, but the...

US initial jobless claims just slipped back below 200,000. On paper, that sounds like great news: fewer people are getting laid off. But if you’re job hunting right now — or struggling to fill a role — it probably doesn’t feel all that great. This data is one more sign we’re in a “low layoffs, low hiring” labor market. Translation: fewer people are losing jobs, but fewer people are landing new ones. The churn that normally keeps the job market moving is slowing down. What a “low layoffs, low...