What is the Job Market Index?

A daily score from −100 to +100 of worker pressure versus leverage in Reddit career conversations. Zero is a typical year for those communities. It is not official labor statistics.

Is this official labor statistics?

No. This is a reading of public posts from r/layoffs, r/jobs, and r/recruitinghell. It is not BLS unemployment, payrolls, or JOLTS.

How often is this updated?

Numbers update daily as new posts are ingested and classified.

How is the job market right now?

Q: How is the job market right now?

As of Aug 26, 2026, the Reddit Job Market Index is Pressured. Layoff and job-search stress remain elevated. The index is little changed from the prior period.

Posts from r/layoffs, r/jobs, and r/recruitinghell — not official labor statistics.

May 26, 2026 – Aug 26, 2026

vs the previous 3 monthsvs the previous 3 months, not the same months last year

Market state

Pressured

-32

−100 to +100, 0 = this community's typical year

Layoff and job-search stress remain elevated. The index is little changed from the prior period.

→0 points

vs previous 3 months

Reddit Job Market Index

Overall labor market sentiment from Reddit conversations

Workers aheadPositive = workers have advantageTypical year0 = typical year for this communityEmployers aheadNegative = employers have advantage

Why it moved

Layoffs

Mentions of people being laid off.

WORSENING

79% of posts

↑ +3% vs previous 3 months

Job search difficulty

Applications needed per offer.

WORSENING

271 apps / offer

↑ +175% vs previous 3 months

Time unemployed in months

Average number of months out of work.

SHORTER

3.1 months

↓ -12% vs previous 3 months

Salary pressure

Salary cuts and weaker offers.

IMPROVING

+6% median change

↓ -22% vs previous 3 months

Job search desperation

High-effort, distressed search posts.

MODERATE

14% of posts

↑ +8% vs previous 3 months

Worker leverage

Worker vs employer bargaining power.

STRONG

15 index

↓ -44% vs previous 3 months

OccupationsTop Occupations

ShareShare of distressvs prevvs previous 3 months

1
Software Engineering
27%↓ 4.6pp
2
Marketing
10%↑ 0.1pp
3
Sales
9%↑ 0.6pp
4
Finance
9%↑ 0.5pp
5
Healthcare
8%↑ 0.6pp
6
Skilled Trades
6%↑ 0.7pp
7
Customer Support
6%↓ 0.8pp
8
Recruiting / HR
6%↑ 0.3pp

IndustriesTop Industries

ShareShare of distressvs prevvs previous 3 months

1
Technology
41%↓ 5.1pp
2
Retail
12%↑ 1.3pp
3
Finance
11%→ 0.0pp
4
Healthcare
10%↑ 1.3pp
5
Education
5%↑ 1.0pp
6
Hospitality
5%↑ 1.6pp
7
Government
2%↑ 0.1pp
8
Manufacturing
2%↑ 0.2pp

US StatesTop US States

Smaller share

Larger share

ShareShare of distressvs prevvs previous 3 months

1
New York
33%↓ 11.9pp
2
California
12%↑ 4.0pp
3
Florida
8%-
4
Texas
7%-
5
Massachusetts
6%↑ 1.6pp

CountriesTop Countries

Smaller share

Larger share

ShareShare of distressvs prevvs previous 3 months

1
United States
57%↑ 4.4pp
2
Canada
11%↓ 1.7pp
3
United Kingdom
11%↓ 1.1pp
4
India
11%↓ 0.4pp
5
Germany
2%↑ 0.1pp

What's driving the conversation

Share of posts by topic in this period

This is the main topic of each post. The Layoffs card above is any mention of layoffs, so the two percentages will not match.

Job Search Struggles

66%

-1pp vs previous 3 months

Salary & Offers

15%

0pp vs previous 3 months

Layoffs & Downsizing

15%

+1pp vs previous 3 months

Career Changes

0pp vs previous 3 months