A recent phenomenon is worth pondering - the employment situation for economics professionals in the United States is deteriorating. As of mid-November this year, academic recruitment data reveals a heartbreaking fact: there are 760 job vacancies, which is 37% lower than the average annual level from 2015 to 2019. From another perspective, even compared to the pandemic year, it is not much different, actually 17% lower. Compared to last year? It has declined by 38%. This is the worst figure in over a decade.

It depends on specific fields. Full-time faculty positions have plummeted by 33% year-on-year. At universities that grant doctoral degrees, about one-third of faculty positions have been cut. What does this mean? It means that the demand for personnel in higher education institutions is shrinking.

What about non-academic fields? They haven't improved much either. There are 27% fewer positions compared to last year, and 45% fewer compared to pre-pandemic levels. Consulting, research, banking, finance, business, and industry—these traditional fields that used to absorb economics graduates have fewer job openings now.

The most severe situation is in government departments. Federal government job openings have decreased by 71% year-on-year, and have fallen by 79% compared to pre-pandemic levels. The combination of cuts in government funding and agency shutdowns has resulted in this scenario.

Overall, this is the lowest point in the job market for economics professionals in the past decade. From a macroeconomic perspective, this reflects the tightening of the current global economic environment, with both academic and commercial sectors responding cautiously.