On Reflection: Jockeying for Jobs

Having trouble finding a job? Know someone who is? It’s becoming a lot harder.

Seattle boasts the dubious distinction of having the toughest labor market in the world. Career website Resume.io found that the city had the world’s largest percentage increase in job competition the past year, with the number of applicants for every open job skyrocketing from an average of 7.5 to a staggering 40.9 the past year. That’s a 445.4% increase.

As the report notes, “around 36% of Seattle’s residents continue to work from home, against a U.S. average of 15%, making it an attractive prospect — but tech layoffs have added thousands of job seekers to the local market.”

The number of applicants for every open job skyrocketed from an average of 7.5 to a staggering 40.9 the past year. That’s a 445.4% increase.

The study analyzed more than 100,000 LinkedIn job ads around the U.S. and major global cities. Another tech mecca, San Jose, is also extremely competitive: The average job ad there attracts about 154 applicants, the most of any U.S. city.

Wyoming ranks as the least competitive state, with an average of just 3.64 applicants for every ad.

Potato Olé indeed!