Latest Release: 2024 Q4The ZipRecruiter Survey of New Hires
The ZipRecruiter Survey of New Hires is a quarterly survey of U.S. residents who started their current jobs within the past six months. New hires are the leading edge of the labor market—the first to experience changes in the urgency and intensity with which employers are recruiting workers, and the terms of employment on offer. Indicators tracked in this survey—such as how long it took workers to find their jobs, and what share received signing bonuses or healthcare benefits upon hire—can help gauge the quantity and quality of jobs available in the U.S. economy.
Latest Release
Q4 2024
The latest findings from ZipRecruiter’s Q4 2024 New Hires Survey suggest that the labor market picked up momentum as the year drew to a close. The share of workers who increased their pay with a job switch surged to 73%, up from 57% in the previous quarter. Recruitment efforts also jumped, with 53% of new hires being actively recruited, compared with 29% earlier. Similarly, the share of new hires negotiating their offers rose to 49% up from just 25%. These strong gains indicate that worker leverage may be rebounding after a two-year decline, though economists caution that one quarter of data may be insufficient to confirm a sustained recovery.
Data Spotlight
⇧ 73%
Previous: 57%
increased their pay
⇧ 53%
Previous: 29%
got recruited
⇧ 31%
Previous: 17%
negotiated their offers
⇧ 49%
Previous: 25%
received a signing bonus
⇧ 43%
Previous: 12%
received a counter-offer from their prior employer
⇧ 46%
Previous: 39%
are “very satisfied” with their job
Highlights of the Q4 2024 Survey
Worker Sentiment Rebounds as New Hires See Gains in Pay and Perks
After several quarters of cooler conditions, ZipRecruiter’s latest quarterly survey of newly hired workers points to a possible rebound in worker bargaining power. A striking 73% of respondents said they increased their pay by switching jobs—up sharply from 57% in the previous quarter—and 53% reported being actively recruited by their new employer, nearly doubling the prior figure of 29%.
In another clear sign of strengthened leverage, nearly half of newly hired workers (49%) said they negotiated their offers, compared with just a quarter previously. Meanwhile, 43% received a signing bonus—jumping from 12% last quarter—and 31% reported getting a counter-offer from their prior employer, up from 17%. Overall, 46% said they are now “very satisfied” with their jobs, suggesting that improved compensation packages may be buoying morale.
Yet the survey also highlighted lingering uncertainty in the labor market. The share of new hires who had an offer rescinded rose sharply to nearly 31%, more than doubling from prior quarters—a stark reminder that even as some workers report greater bargaining power, risks remain. Economists note that this uptick in rescinded offers could reflect heightened caution among employers in an uncertain economic environment.
Economists warn that one quarter of data doesn’t guarantee a decisive turnaround, particularly as broader labor market indicators remain somewhat mixed. A key caveat is that the uptick in optimism appears partly driven by politics: 41% of respondents identified as Republicans—exceeding the 31% who identified as Democrats—and 43% said they believe a Republican administration would better serve workers in their field in 2025, compared with 34% who would have preferred a Democratic administration. These political preferences could be skewing overall sentiment.
Workers Swing to Trump
Over the past decade, we have periodically asked job seekers and workers about their political affiliation and always found the same result: a larger share have tended to identify as Democrats than Republicans. Over the course of 2024, however, a notable shift occurred, with the share identifying as Democrats falling from a high of 41% to a low of 31%, and the share identifying as Republicans rising from 29% to 41%.
When asked which party’s victory in the presidential election would most benefit people in their occupation, 43% of respondents chose the Republican Party, compared with 34% who favored the Democratic Party. An additional 21% said they believed the outcome wouldn’t make a difference.
Chasing Higher Pay: The Dominant Driver of Job Changes
The latest survey reveals a sharp increase in workers switching jobs for higher pay, with 47% of respondents citing it as their primary reason in Q4 2024, up from just 35% in Q3 and 36% in Q2. This rise suggests declining opportunity to obtain higher pay within the same role, prompting workers to seek better compensation elsewhere. Similarly, the share of workers seeking better benefits jumped to 38% in Q4, more than doubling the Q2 figure of 18%. Meanwhile, reasons related to poor management or stress saw declines, indicating that dissatisfaction with workplace conditions may be playing a smaller role as pay becomes the dominant driver of job changes.
Methodology
The ZipRecruiter Survey of New Hires is a survey fielded to a nationally representative online panel administered by Qualtrics during the second month of every quarter. The sample consists of more than 1,500 adults who reside in the U.S., who are currently employed, and who began their current jobs within the past six months. It excludes self-employed workers.
The survey asks these recently hired workers detailed questions about the circumstances leading up to their employment, the hiring process, the job offer, and the working conditions in their new roles. Additional findings regarding the prevalence and distribution of particular job search experiences and working conditions across the cohort of recent hires, by age, gender, education, and industry, are available upon request. Email press@ziprecruiter.com for more survey data or to schedule an interview with the authors of this study.