Coinciding with the ongoing United States government shutdown, which has disrupted the release of key labour data, the latest update from job search platform Indeed reveals that employment prospects fell sharply in October, reaching their weakest point since February 2021.
Typically, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) would have released its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) this week, a key indicator the Federal Reserve (The Fed) tracks to gauge labour market conditions.
However, with the government shutdown continuing, economists and policymakers have had no choice but to default to private data sources like Indeed for insight into employment trends.
Indeed’s Job Postings Index – which uses February 2020 as a benchmark of 100 – dropped to 101.9 by October 24.
According to the last update from the BLS, this latest number means a 0.5% dip from the start of the month and is down roughly 3.5% since mid-August—the most recent period with comparable BLS data.
The August JOLTS report also reflected a steady decrease in job openings, showing 7.23 million available positions—around the same as July but 7% lower than in January.
Indeed’s internal data also reveals that advertised wages have softened alongside fewer job listings.
In August, salaries posted on the platform were up 2.5% from a year earlier, down from a 3.4% increase at the start of 2025.
In response to the gradual cooling of the U.S. labour market, the Fed's Federal Open Market Committee last week voted 10-2 to reduce its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point, setting it between 3.75% and 4%.
The central bank’s officials stressed that growing risks to employment now outweigh persistent inflation, which remains nearly one percentage point above the Fed’s 2% goal.
“Hiring is clearly slowing—we’re seeing that in real-time data like Indeed’s job postings,” Fed Governor Lisa Cook noted on Monday.
“We’re monitoring multiple indicators, and the slight rise in the unemployment rate over the summer gives us reason to be cautious.”
Meanwhile, the monthly nonfarm payrolls report has also been delayed by the shutdown.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected the report to show a 60,000-job decline in October and a rise in the unemployment rate to 4.5%.
Interestingly, while job openings typically track stock market performance, since November 2022, when ChatGPT was launched, the S&P 500 Index has surged more than 70% while job openings have plummeted roughly 30%.
In light of these incriminating numbers, a growing number of economists are pointing the finger at artificial intelligence for fracturing the economy, enriching investors while devastating workers.
Job openings peaked at 11.5 million in March 2022, the highest level since the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey began in 2000 and by August 2025, that figure had fallen to 7.18 million.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has soared from around 3,840 in November 2022 to 6,688 by September 2025 - a gain of around 74% over that period.
According to JPMorgan, AI stocks accounted for 75% of S&P 500 returns and 80% of earnings growth since November 2022.
The bank also estimated that 30 AI-related companies now account for around 44% of the S&P 500’s total value and generated approximately $5 trillion in wealth gains for U.S. households over the past year.
