How The US Job Market Shifted Across Tech, Healthcare, Hospitality — And What Job Seekers Must Do Next

Market Shifts US Image

By WJ • • 4 Minutes

The US job market has been reshaped by a “three-speed economy”: healthcare keeps hiring at scale, tech keeps reorganizing, and hospitality keeps growing—but more slowly than the post-pandemic surge. For job seekers, that mix changes where opportunity is, how roles are defined, and how to get discovered by modern hiring systems.

Tech: from “growth at all costs” to targeted hiring

US tech demand hasn’t vanished—it has become pickier. One of the clearest signals is restructuring. A Crunchbase tally reported at least 95,667 layoffs at US-based tech companies in 2024, continuing into 2025. Crunchbase News This doesn’t mean “no tech jobs.” It means employers are prioritizing AI-adjacent engineering, security, cloud, and cost-optimization roles over broad expansion.

Regional effect inside the US:

  1. Coastal hubs still post volume, but competition is intense because layoffs concentrate experienced talent there.
  2. Second-tier metros (and fully remote teams) often offer faster interview cycles and clearer scope—especially for “build + ship” roles rather than experimental R&D.

Job seeker impact:

  1. More hiring is skills-based (proof of impact, portfolios, measurable outcomes).
  2. More filtering happens via ATS + automated screening, so keyword relevance and role alignment matter more than ever (especially for “software engineer,” “data analyst,” “cybersecurity,” “ML engineer,” “DevOps”).

Helpful internal reads:

  1. Beyond Keywords: How to craft a resume that passes ATS and appeals to AI recruiters
  2. Preparing for AI-driven soft skills assessments

Healthcare: the stabilizer (and the biggest job engine)

In contrast to tech’s volatility, healthcare has been the consistent hiring engine. One widely cited 2024 summary found healthcare and social assistance created 686,600 jobs in 2024, accounting for 31% of the 2.2 million jobs added in the overall US economy that year. healthleadersmedia.com

What that means regionally:

  1. Growth is broad-based: large metros, fast-growing Sun Belt regions, and suburban hospital systems all compete for talent.
  2. The “healthcare economy” also includes non-clinical roles: health IT, revenue cycle, claims, patient operations, analytics, and compliance—which creates crossover opportunities for tech and business candidates.

Job seeker impact:

  1. Credentials and licensing remain gatekeepers for clinical paths, but non-clinical healthcare roles increasingly reward workflow automation, analytics, and customer operations experience.

Hospitality: still hiring, but normalization is real

Hospitality is still expanding, yet the pace has cooled compared with the immediate rebound years. US employment data highlights that leisure and hospitality added an average of 24,000 jobs per month in 2024, about half the average monthly gain of 47,000 in 2023. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Regional story:

  1. Tourism-heavy markets (major destination cities and seasonal regions) remain strong, but employers are more disciplined on labor costs.
  2. Hotels, restaurants, and venues increasingly use on-demand scheduling and flexible staffing, which shifts job-seeker strategies toward speed and availability.

Job seeker impact:

  1. Faster hiring cycles, more hourly roles, and more value placed on ratings, references, and reliability signals (especially where staffing is tight).

Don’t ignore the “quiet winners”: government, retail, logistics, energy

Even when headlines focus on tech layoffs, other sectors quietly absorb talent: government and public services, logistics/warehousing, retail operations, and energy transition roles. The practical takeaway: US opportunity is less “one industry dominates” and more “multiple industries hire differently.”

How job seekers should adapt in the US (practical recommendations)

  1. Treat the US as multiple job markets. Search by metro + sector (e.g., Austin cybersecurity jobs, New Jersey healthcare analyst jobs, remote DevOps engineer USA).
  2. Optimize for ATS + AI screening. Make your resume “machine readable,” then human impressive. Start here: the ATS guide above.
  3. Use intent-driven keywords.
  4. Short-tail: US jobs, tech jobs, healthcare jobs, hospitality jobs, remote jobs
  5. Long-tail: AI job search platform for US tech jobs, best way to find healthcare analyst roles in the US, remote software engineer jobs USA with visa sponsorship
  6. Build a 2-track pipeline: (a) targeted applications to best-fit roles, (b) networking + recruiter outreach for hidden roles.
  7. Use an AI job search engine to reduce noise. With JobsChat.ai, job seekers can search smarter, filter faster, and match roles to skills—especially useful when the market is fragmented.