Discussion Paper

Firms' Employment and Wage Outlook Going Into 2025

Abstract: Every November, the Richmond Fed asks businesses a series of questions about their expectations for hiring, wage adjustments, and other employment-related topics. This year, in addition to the usual set of questions, we asked firms if they have reduced the size of their workforce over the past three months and what workforce decisions they would make if business conditions deteriorated in the next six months. Consistent with past results, most responding businesses expect to maintain or increase employee headcount over the next 12 months. However, there were some shifts in responses compared to previous years. For example, in 2024, firms reported labor availability as less of a restraint as well as reported smaller wage increases for existing employees. The November survey also found more firms have reduced headcount over the previous three months compared to last year. However, an increasing share of these firms reduced headcount by removing open job posts rather than through layoffs and attrition.

Keywords: employment; wages; business surveys; 5th district;

Bibliographic Information

Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

Part of Series: Regional Matters

Publication Date: 2024-12-20