By Panos Mourdoukoutas

The labor market is becoming more efficient and flexible, with job seekers finding and accepting positions more quickly—provided they are willing to compromise on role expectations and pay—according to ZipRecruiter’s new report.

The fourth-quarter 2025 survey of new hires, conducted among more than 1,500 adults who began their current job within the past six months, offers a snapshot of shifting labor market conditions, highlighting changes in the speed, leverage, and job opportunities over time.

Job-Hugging Replaces Job-Hopping

One key finding from the survey is that jobs are being secured more quickly. In the fourth quarter, 53 percent of new hires reported finding a job within a month, up from 47 percent in the third quarter.

That faster pace, however, came with tempered expectations. Only 25 percent of respondents reported landing their “dream job,” down from 36 percent in the previous quarter, indicating a trade-off between speed and job satisfaction.

The survey also indicated mounting pay pressure and reduced incentives. Just 56.4 percent of new hires reported an increase in pay, down from 60.8 percent in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, 27.3 percent accepted a pay cut—often following extended unemployment—and only 14.7 percent received a signing bonus, the lowest level recorded in 2025.

Another finding was a decline in salary negotiation. Only 30.4 percent of new hires negotiated their offers, reflecting reduced labor-market leverage. Still, negotiation continued to pay off: 90.2 percent of those who negotiated secured a better deal, most commonly through higher base pay, suggesting many workers may be leaving money on the table.

The survey also showed a growing preference for stability over job-hopping. More than 67 percent of new hires reported feeling secure in their roles, more than half stopped actively searching for jobs after accepting an offer, and more than one in four plan to remain with their employer for five years or longer.

At the same time, higher compensation remained the primary reason for job changes. Sixty percent of respondents said they would leave their current role for higher pay or better benefits, indicating that today’s stability reflects a mix of deliberate choice and limited alternatives.

‘Calculated Decisions’

“Today’s new hires are navigating a slower market with intention,” Nicole Bachaud, ZipRecruiter’s labor economist, said in comments accompanying the survey.

“By making calculated decisions and weighing long-term options, new hires are happy with where they landed and are preparing for their next steps.”

The broader labor market has been under pressure from both cyclical and structural forces. On the cyclical side is the slowing of job opportunities, as reflected in the most recent Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), which showed that job openings declined by 303,000 to 7.146 million in November 2025, the lowest reading in 14 months.

Another sign of labor market weakness came from the latest U.S. payroll report, which showed the economy added only 50,000 jobs in December 2025.

Slower payroll growth has pushed the unemployment rate higher, rising from 4.10 percent in the final quarter of 2024 to 4.40 percent in the last quarter of 2025.

A recent survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York provides further insight into the evolving landscape of the labor market.

Job finding expectations declined to a series low—the second series low for the measure in six months—while job loss expectations also worsened. Median one-year-ahead earnings growth expectations decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 2.5 percent in December 2025, remaining below its 12-month trailing average of 2.7 percent. The average perceived probability of finding a job if one’s current job was lost fell by 4.2 percentage points to 43.1 percent, reaching a new series low.

“The economy has clearly cooled from the post-pandemic hiring surge,” Kaveh Vahdat, founder and president of RiseOpp, told The Epoch Times.

“Employers are hiring more cautiously as interest rates, inflation pressures, and broader economic uncertainty affect business planning.”

Vahdat said the slowdown has reduced job openings, moderated wage growth, and shifted leverage back toward employers.

“Workers are responding rationally by prioritizing stability, accepting offers more quickly, and staying in their current roles once they land a job,” he said.

“This helps explain the decline in job-hopping and the longer tenures new hires are now reporting, even when the role isn’t ideal.”

Structural Factors

Structural factors are also reshaping the labor market, particularly through layoffs associated with the adoption of AI, as companies seek to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

Last October, Amazon announced plans to eliminate about 14,000 corporate positions to remain “nimble,” while other companies—including UPS, Nestlé, and Salesforce—have either announced job cuts or indicated they are planning reductions.

Historically, large-scale layoffs were more common during economic downturns. The recent cuts, however, have occurred amid strong corporate profitability, signaling a structural shift in how work is organized as AI adoption accelerates.

Unlike earlier waves of automation that replaced physical labor or routine tasks, AI targets cognitive functions. It can learn, analyze, and make decisions, transforming how both skilled and unskilled work is performed. As a result, some roles are being reshaped while others are being eliminated altogether.

“Over the past year, companies focused on right-sizing their workforces in anticipation of potential disruptions,” Sheldon Arora, CEO of StaffDNA, told The Epoch Times.

“Now they’re investing again, particularly in automation. Anything that can be automated likely will be, and companies are shifting employees into roles that support these strategies.”

“The workforce has changed, and work is changing,” Jamie Jacobs, CEO and founder of Gig Talent, told The Epoch Times.

“As companies transform at the intersection of AI, productivity, culture, and future operating models, employees are being more thoughtful. What appears to be hesitation is often discernment, as new hires make deliberate choices about where to invest their time and talent.”

In this evolving labor market, Metaintro CEO Lacey Kaelani advised job seekers to narrow their focus. Rather than submitting hundreds of applications, she recommended concentrating on roles that closely align with one’s skills and interests.

“Use keywords from job postings that match your experience and include measurable performance indicators where possible,” she said.

“Applicant Tracking Systems now screen out more than 80 percent of candidates based on keyword mismatches. The most successful job seekers are running focused campaigns, not relying on a ‘spray and pray’ approach.”