The Upjohn Institute New Hires Quality Index hit another record high between May and June, at $18.70. Hiring volume jumped 0.9 percent and is 4.8 percent above its pre-pandemic level.
In this month's release, Index creator Brad Hershbein compares two types of newly hired workers: those moving from nonemployment to employment and those moving from one employer to another. Both groups reached all-time highs in the wage index in early 2021 before declining, but both are still above their prepandemic levels.
Hiring volume for the newly employed has slowed by 3.9 percent since last fall, while hiring volume for job switchers has increased for 15 straight months, to a level last reached in 2008. Hiring volume for both is above where it was before the pandemic.
In recent months, the hiring rate has been steady for the newly employed and has risen for job switchers, indicating that employers and workers are still eager to form new matches, Hershbein writes, and that the U.S. economy is still sailing forward.
Read the full release or explore the Index.