Reddit Job Market

Real-time signals from real conversations

May 13, 2026 – Aug 13, 2026

vs Feb 9, 2026 – May 12, 2026 (previous 3 months)

Market state

Weakening

More people are losing jobs or struggling to find them. Worker leverage is low and getting weaker.

↓7 points

vs previous 3 months

Reddit Job Market Index

Overall labor market sentiment from Reddit conversations

Positive = Workers have advantage0 = NeutralNegative = Employers have advantage

Why it moved

Layoffs

Mentions of people being laid off.

WORSENING

79% +5%

vs previous 3 months

Job search difficulty

Applications needed per offer.

WORSENING

279 +194%

vs previous 3 months

Time unemployed in months

Average number ofmonths out of work.

SHORTER

3.1 months -20%

vs previous 3 months

Salary pressure

Salary cuts and weaker offers.

IMPROVING

+6% -36%

vs previous 3 months

Job search desperation

High-effort, distressed search posts.

MODERATE

13% +8%

vs previous 3 months

Worker leverage

Worker vs employer bargaining power.

STRONG

17 -36%

vs previous 3 months

Where it hurts most

Top occupations

By distress score

Distress scorevs previous 3 months
  1. 1

    Other

    100↑ +31
  2. 2

    Software Engineering

    18↑ +7
  3. 3

    Marketing

    7↑ +33
  4. 4

    Sales

    6↑ +43
  5. 5

    Finance

    6↑ +41
  6. 6

    Healthcare

    5↑ +40
  7. 7

    Skilled Trades

    4↑ +62
  8. 8

    Customer Support

    4↑ +21

Top industries

By distress score

Distress scorevs previous 3 months
  1. 1

    Other

    100↑ +30
  2. 2

    Technology

    70↑ +18
  3. 3

    Retail

    20↑ +57
  4. 4

    Finance

    18↑ +32
  5. 5

    Healthcare

    17↑ +49
  6. 6

    Education

    9↑ +82
  7. 7

    Hospitality

    8↑ +77
  8. 8

    Government

    4↑ +15

Top geographies

By distress score

Top states

  1. 1

    New York

    100↑ +39
  2. 2

    California

    33↑ +131
  3. 3

    Florida

    20—
  4. 4

    Massachusetts

    18—
  5. 5

    Texas

    18—

What's driving the conversation

Share of posts by topic in this period

Job Search Struggles

63%

-2pp vs prev. period

Layoffs & Downsizing

15%

+2pp vs prev. period

Salary & Offers

15%

0pp vs prev. period

Other

3%

0pp vs prev. period

Career Changes

3%

+1pp vs prev. period

Hiring Freeze & Delays

0%

0pp vs prev. period

Metrics are based on posts from r/layoffs, r/jobs, and r/recruitinghell. Comments are not included. The Reddit Job Market Index runs on a −100…+100 scale where zero is each subreddit’s own trailing-year normal. Positive readings mean workers gaining leverage; negative readings mean workers under pressure.