“Moderating”, “softening”, “cooling,” dress it up with any word you want, the U.S. labor market just ain’t as good as it used to be.

There was, of course, that disappointing jobs report we got earlier this month that showed weaker job growth not only for July but in the two months prior, as well. And if you’re in the mood to second-guess government data, the jobs platform Indeed says postings on its website are down 8% year over year.

That’s also bad news for Indeed’s bottom line. Same goes for LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, or other online job matching sites, which typically charge employers to promote their gigs.

Salon manager Brittany Blue at Bespoke Hair in downtown San Diego can see firsthand that the labor market may be taking a turn.

“We have had people who, you know, are maybe stretching their colors out a little bit longer,” said Blue. “They're maybe not getting haircuts as often.” 

That’s obviously not great for business. But there is a silver lining.

Blue posted a job opening for a front desk coordinator on ZipRecruiter earlier this month. She’s very pleased with the early results.

“We’ve gotten seven applications just yesterday, and three out of the seven that we reviewed would be potential candidates,” she said. “We’re definitely impressed with the quality of the candidates we’ve gotten this time.”

For companies like Bespoke Hair, which are still hiring right now, a softer labor market has its advantages — more impressive applicants and fewer job postings from other companies to compete with.

For online job sites though, it can be a challenge.

“The overall job market right now obviously is not growing very fast, and so you’re seeing declines in job posts,” said Jonathan Stull, chief operating officer for Handshake, a job matching platform that specializes in entry-level jobs for younger workers.

Usually, Handshake makes good money from big companies paying up to seven figures for job posting services.

But Stull said they’ve diversified revenue streams, enticing more smaller businesses onto the platform and expanding their applicant pool beyond college students. More recently, they’ve found a way to monetize the technology that may be taking away some of those entry-level jobs in the first place.

“We're working directly with the foundational AI models to help them train their models directly through human data,” said Stull.

“Human data” here is a Ph.D. student in music theory or biochemistry hired to make sure chatbots give the right answers to questions on, say, chord progressions or nucleic acid. They can earn up to $160 an hour.

And sure, some people may find it depressing that bright young minds are accepting gig work to train their possible robot replacements.

But Stull said their new line of business is allowing young workers to familiarize themselves with the technology that will surely be a part of their future careers. He projects Handshake AI will soon make the company $100 million a year — nearly half it’s estimated revenue.

“As jobs change, as careers change, as the economy changes in whatever way possible, Handshake needs to evolve and be super agile along that path,” said Stull.

While job postings have declined recently across most job site platforms, job applications have surged.

Boston University marketing professor Andrey Fradkin has consulted with companies like Indeed. While monetizing would-be employers is tough right now, he said that monetizing would-be employees has gotten easier.

“Job seekers are actually going to be willing to pay more because they're really going to be desperate for a job,” said Fradkin. “There are fewer jobs to go around.”

Think LinkedIn Premium or Indeed Pro, which allows users to see who’s snooping on their profile for a monthly fee. Those paid subscriptions also offer something called “top choice,” a digital badge you can attach to your application to tell employers, “I really, really, really want this job.”

In the era where ChatGPT can whip up a detailed resume and cover letter in an instant, Fradkin said that signal is more valuable than ever.

“You have thousands of applications for a single position,” said Fradkin. “How are you going to sift through that?”

Of course, paying for the privilege of just getting your application considered might be a tough expense to swallow — especially if you don’t have steady work.

Rashida Brown got laid off from her six-figure job in customer billing support in January.

“I started applying for jobs in February, and I did some this morning. It's over 400 total,” said Brown.

Brown has four kids. Her husband is still working, but her unemployment benefits run out in two weeks.

“I went into this very foolishly thinking I'll be fine, you know, maybe I'll take $10k less a year, and now I'm saying I'll take 50% less, and I might be willing to go lower,” she said.

She said she still finds value in LinkedIn, especially the online community of other people looking for work. She hasn’t paid for LinkedIn Premium.

“I hate to say it this way, but I think it's because I feel that I am very qualified, with a lot of experience, a master's degree in business, and I just feel like I shouldn't have to pay for anything additional,” she said

But if Brown keeps striking out on the job search, she said she’ll at least try the free trial.

Correction (Aug. 14, 2025): A previous version of this story misstated the amount PhD students earn at jobs checking AI accuracy.