February 2025 Jobs Recap: The Labor Market froze up in February, stalled by Trump tariff chaos

Key Takeaways:

• Labor demand in the time of DOGE. The most striking thing to note about February’s data is how closely it reflects recent policy edicts from Washington. Job openings in public administration were down over 5% from January, while D.C. saw the largest regional labor demand drop of any MSA in the country. Meanwhile, in reaction to reduced migration, tariff paralysis, or both, food services and food & beverage manufacturing charted significant declines in demand.

• Uncertainty reigns. With recession talk in the air and even POTUS acknowledging a “transition period,” employers are hunkering down on talent plans. The labor market was already looking frozen before the tariff parade began—now employers and job holders are bracing themselves for what many are calling a new world order.

U.S. Job Listings by Month | January 2024 - February 2025

The graph illustrates monthly job listing trends in the U.S., comparing new and removed job postings alongside total active listings.

LinkUp 10,000: Up by 100,000 listings from December.

The LinkUp 10,000 is an analytic published daily and monthly that captures the total U.S. job openings from the 10,000 global employers in LinkUp’s jobs dataset with the most U.S. openings.

Monthly LinkUp 10,000 | February 2023 - February 2025

Jobs Data By Industry (NAICS)

We're seeing a decline in labor demand across most sectors for the month of February. The three largest by percentage:

• Food & beverage manufacturing (-10%)

• Accommodations and food services (-7.9%)

• Retail - Gen merchandise (-6.7%)

Job Listings by Industry (NAICS) | February 2025

This chart displays the change in job listings across various industries, categorized by NAICS codes.

Jobs Data By Occupation (O*NET)

90% of occupations saw openings slump in February. The top three by percentage:

• Food prep and serving (-7.2%)

• Community and social services (-6.2%)

• Sales and Related (-5%)

Job Listings by Occupation (O*NET) | February 2025

This chart displays the change in job listings across various occupations, categorized by O*NET codes.

Closed Duration: Dropped from 47 to 46 days in February.

Closed duration, or the average number of days job listings remain live on company websites before removal, tracks hiring velocity across the U.S. economy. As the average duration increases, hiring velocity slows.

U.S. Job Listing By Month | January 2024 - February 2025

Jobs Data By State

During the month of February, nearly all the states in the Union saw a decrease in job openings from January.

Percent Change in Active Job Listings by State (Month-Over-Month) | February 2025

Companies Added

Every month, LinkUp indexes new companies to our database. In February, LinkUp added 906 additional employer websites.

Contact us if you are interested in obtaining the complete list of recently added companies.

DATA DISCLAIMERS

LinkUp’s monthly data recaps incorporate revisions to previously-reported monthly data with the purpose of reporting the most accurate and up-to-date data points. For more information on what circumstances may impact data revisions, visit our Data Support Center.