If you're looking for a new job this year it's highly likely you're finding it a bit of a fraught experience.
We are long past the hiring halcyon days of the pandemic when jobs were plentiful and salaries were endlessly negotiable. Now, for the first time in years, according to jobs site Indeed, wage growth for job stayers is higher than it is for job switchers.
The reason? It's partly because employers don't need to compete as hard to fill open positions. With a lot of extra people in the workforce right now, this has led to a 'low churn' environment.
5 jobs hiring across the U.S.
In fact, according to recent JOLTS data, job openings fell to 7.2 million in July from 7.4 million in June, which was lower than anticipated.
Laid off and looking
Of the workers who are moving to new roles, Indeed says they may "be doing so involuntarily and are generally not moving to better-paying roles."
Many of those in the labor market just want to secure new employment as fast as they can. According to the Partnership for Public Service, more than 148,000 federal employees have involuntarily or voluntarily left the government workforce as of July 21.
And tech layoffs, while not as highly publicized as they were previously, are also quietly continuing. Last year saw more than 150,000 job cuts across 549 companies,for example. This year, more than 22,000 tech workers have been laid off.
But it isn't just all this extra competition that is making job hunting so hard. The actual experience of finding a job is pretty horrible in 2025.
Job searching is broken
Job search is fragmented across numerous platforms, each of which offer their own criteria for search or even job titles, for example. Traditionally, job search is not intelligent: it doesn't understand that your skills could also be relevant across other industries or sectors, thus widening the pool of roles you could apply for.
It also tends not to use reasoning to understand that the job title you currently have may be called something else at another company: for example, finance director versus chief finance officer. You can do both jobs, but you'll probably only see an ad for the one that matches your current job title.
That's frustrating enough, but it's not the end of the problems. Depending on your age, you might be finding things tougher. According to the New York Federal Reserve, the job market for 22- to 27-year-olds with a bachelor's degree or higher slumped in the first quarter of 2025. These grads experienced an underemployment rate of about 41 percent, reflecting a wider erosion in entry-level roles.
Influx of applications
With so much competition for jobs, recruiters are experiencing an influx of applications on an unprecedented scale. They're finding it harder than ever to assess and evaluate job applicants and this is in turn slowing down the entire job search process.
According to data from Zety, 53 percent of laid-off workers submitted more than 50 applications before landing a new job. One in five actually submitted over 100 applications.
The report also found that more than 30 percent of laid-off workers were unemployed for over 90 days before they got a new role. That's despite the fact that 76 percent began their job search less than a month after being laid off.
Additionally, 41 percent of job seekers doubt a real person ever sees their application. A third said not hearing back from employers was their top job search frustration.
The rise of overly complicated or long applications has also seen 57 percent abandon an application in the middle of the process.
That's recent data from LiveCareer, which also found that American workers think a job application should take no longer than 30 minutes.
"The biggest job search frustrations stem from a lack of communication and confusing application processes, leading many candidates to give up on the job search," said career expert Jasmine Escalera in the report.
Fixing a broken environment
There is hope that job searching will become easier, more accurate and quicker. And that's thanks to the rise of generative AI. Just as artificial intelligence is embedding itself into so much of our day-to-day both in and out of the workplace, AI is set to transform how you look for a job.
From using generative AI platforms such as ChatGPT or Perplexity to help with resume optimization or writing a cover letter, standalone AI agents which will guide you conversationally through your job search are also being developed.
One such is Robin, an AI-driven talent engagement agent that uses reasoning to match you to jobs you're the perfect fit for. It can also chat to you in the hiring company's tone of voice and give you all the information you need on company policies, locations, news updates and more
