The Job Market Podcast with Fexingo: Hiring Trends, Unemployment, and Labor Market Updates

Lucas and Luna dig into a quiet shift in the labor market that most job seekers miss: employers are listing more requirements per job ad than ever before. Using recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and a new analysis from the hiring platform Indeed, they explore how the average number of skills, certifications, and experience years per posting has risen nearly 30% since 2020. They conne...

Episode 81 dives into the hidden signals in job ad salary ranges. Lucas and Luna break down why a widening spread in posted pay often signals trouble filling a role, while narrow ranges suggest a competitive employer has the leverage. Using the latest JOLTS data—job openings jumped to 7.6 million in April from 6.9 million—they explore how employers are using salary bait-and-switch tactics, like li...

Lucas and Luna dig into the surprising signal hidden in job posting language — specifically, how often employers are adding the phrase 'urgent hiring' to their ads. With JOLTS job openings rising sharply to 7.6 million in April 2026 and initial jobless claims dropping to 215,000, the labor market looks tight on the surface. But a new analysis of 5 million job ads from May 2026 shows that 'urgent'...

Episode 79 dives into a fresh labor market signal: how the concentration of job ads within a few dominant employers in a metro area can distort hiring data and mask underlying weakness. Lucas and Luna examine the latest JOLTS data showing job openings rising to 7.6 million in April 2026, but drill into the metropolitan-level numbers. Using the example of Huntsville, Alabama — where four aerospace...

Episode 78 of The Job Market Podcast digs into a subtle but powerful labor market signal: the salary range in job postings. With the national unemployment rate flat at 4.3% and job openings jumping to 7.6 million in April 2026, Lucas and Luna examine how employers are using salary bands to attract—or deter—applicants. They focus on a recent analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta showing...

In this episode of The Job Market Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore a powerful but often overlooked hiring signal: how job advertisements vary by occupation. They examine the latest data showing that while overall job openings rose to 7.6 million in April 2026, the recovery is uneven across occupations. Professional and business services jobs are surging, while construction and manufacturing ads rem...

Episode 76 of The Job Market Podcast with Fexingo dives into a subtle but powerful hiring signal: the education requirements in job postings. As of June 2026, with the unemployment rate at 4.3% and job openings surging to 7.6 million in April, Lucas and Luna explore how a shift toward requiring a bachelor's degree in fields that previously didn't — or a drop in such requirements — can reveal which...

More companies are pulling employees back to the office—but the real labor market signal isn't about commute times. Lucas and Luna drill into new data showing that when firms mandate return-to-office, they often follow with layoffs or restructuring within six months. Using JOLTS job openings data from April 2026 (7.6 million openings, up from 6.9 million) and the concurrent rise in layoff announce...

Episode 74 of The Job Market Podcast. Lucas and Luna examine how hiring freezes appear in job advertisement data weeks before companies announce layoffs. Using recent JOLTS data showing job openings rising to 7.6 million while weekly earnings edged up to $1,204, they dissect the gap between official corporate announcements and the quiet signal of disappearing postings. The hosts walk through a spe...

How far will companies pay to relocate a new hire? This episode of The Job Market Podcast with Fexingo digs into a surprising shift in 2026: rising relocation assistance in job postings, particularly for mid-senior roles in manufacturing and logistics. Lucas and Luna examine why employers are offering moving allowances in a market where remote work should have killed the need—and what the geograph...

Episode 72 digs into a overlooked labor market indicator: the length and detail of job postings. Lucas and Luna discuss how companies' growing demand for 'must-have' qualifications — from 3 years of experience to specific software certifications — may reveal a tightening labor market where employers are asking for more even as the unemployment rate holds at 4.3%. They connect this to the latest JO...

In this episode of The Job Market Podcast, Lucas and Luna break down a surprising divergence in quit rates across age groups, using fresh May 2026 data. While overall quits remain below pre-pandemic norms, workers under 35 are jumping ship at a faster clip than older cohorts. The conversation explores what's driving this trend—from remote work leverage to sectoral preferences—and what it signals a...

In this episode of The Job Market Podcast, Lucas and Luna dig into a striking new report from S&P Global showing that factory job cuts in June 2026 are approaching levels not seen since the 2008 financial crisis and the early days of COVID-19. They explore what this means for the broader labor market, why manufacturing is struggling while services remain resilient, and how job seekers and investor...

We dig into the latest Employment Cost Index data — wages rose to 177.5 in Q1 2026, up from 176.23. Lucas and Luna unpack what this means for workers and employers: is wage growth accelerating or cooling? They tie it to April's JOLTS surge to 7.6 million openings and the flat 4.3% unemployment rate. The episode explores how the ECI, which adjusts for job composition, gives a cleaner read on underl...

Lucas and Luna dig into the latest JOLTS numbers and a surprising indicator that often gets overlooked: temporary help services employment. With job openings jumping to 7.6 million in April, but the temp staffing sector still contracting, they explore what that divergence means for the health of the labor market. Drawing on historical patterns from the 2008 and 2020 recessions, they make the case...

Lucas and Luna dig into the Employment Cost Index — a less-hyped but arguably more reliable measure of wage pressure than average hourly earnings. They explain why the ECI rose to 177.5 in Q1 2026, how it smooths out composition effects that distort other wage data, and what it means for the Fed's next move. With the unemployment rate flat at 4.3% and job openings jumping to 7.6 million, the hosts...

Lucas and Luna dig into a fresh labor market signal hidden in plain sight: the rise of gig work and side hustles among prime-age workers. With unemployment at 4.3% and job openings up to 7.6 million, you'd expect a tight labor market, but moonlighting is surging. Using the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and a new Fed study, the hosts explore what's driving this trend — from wage s...

In this episode of The Job Market Podcast, Lucas and Luna examine the surprising story hidden in part-time employment data. With the unemployment rate flat at 4.3% and job openings jumping to 7.6 million, they explore why the number of people working part-time for economic reasons has stayed elevated. They drill into the difference between voluntary and involuntary part-time work, what it signals...

In episode 64 of The Job Market Podcast, Lucas and Luna dig into a fresh angle on hiring signals: wage growth by industry. With average hourly earnings up to $37.50 in May 2026, but the national unemployment rate stuck at 4.3%, they ask which sectors are actually driving that pay growth — and which are falling behind. Lucas points to the latest JOLTS data showing job openings rebounding to 7.6 mil...

Job openings are up and unemployment is flat, but the quit rate tells a different story. In this episode, Lucas and Luna dig into the quits data from the JOLTS report and what it says about worker confidence in mid-2026. With the quits rate hovering near pre-pandemic lows despite a strong headline labor market, they explore why employees aren't leaving their jobs and what that signals for wage gro...

In this episode of The Job Market Podcast, Lucas and Luna dig into a less-talked-about metric: the number of people who have been unemployed for 27 weeks or longer. With the latest data showing job openings up to 7.6 million but the unemployment rate stuck at 4.3 percent, they explore what the long-term unemployed data tells us about labor market slack, skills mismatches, and the real recovery. Lu...

Lucas and Luna dig into the quits rate — the share of workers voluntarily leaving jobs — and explain why it's a better leading indicator of labor market confidence than the headline job openings number. With JOLTS data for April 2026 showing quits hovering near a five-year low at 2.0%, they discuss what that signals about worker bargaining power, wage growth, and whether the so-called 'Great Resig...

In this episode of The Job Market Podcast with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna dig into the latest JOLTS data and uncover a powerful signal hidden in job openings by company size. While headline job openings surged to 7.6 million in April, nearly all the growth came from firms with fewer than 50 employees—small businesses are hiring aggressively, while large corporations remain cautious. The hosts discuss...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna drill into the latest JOLTS data from April 2026, which showed job openings jumping to 7.6 million from 6.9 million. But Lucas argues that the aggregate number masks a critical signal: nearly all the growth came from low-wage sectors like leisure and hospitality, while openings for mid-to-high-wage professional roles barely budged. They discuss what this wage-tier d...

Lucas and Luna dig into the latest JOLTS data — with job openings jumping to 7.6 million in April — and explore what the Bureau of Labor Statistics calls 'job-to-job flows.' They explain why tracking workers who move directly from one employer to another, rather than through unemployment, is one of the clearest leading indicators of labor market tightness. Using the April numbers and historical co...