Finding work is still tough for many jobseekers facing drawn-out interview processes and stiffer competition for roles in some industries — but that could soon change.

"It's getting progressively harder to land a job," ZipRecruiter chief economist Julia Pollak tells CNBC Make It. 

The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3% in July, and the length of joblessness increased while hiring has slowed, fueling fears of a broader economic slowdown.

Companies are warier about hiring amid high interest rates and sharply rising wages, but many still want to hire, Pollak adds. 

Dawn Fay, operational president at Robert Half, a recruitment and staffing firm in New York, notes that many of the employers she works with feared an imminent recession, and pulled back on hiring in the first half of 2024 as a result.

That is starting to turn around, she says. Some of her clients are building out their human resources teams — usually not a priority in a soft labor market — and other fields like finance, sales and professional services are hiring again.

 In June, Robert Half surveyed more than 2,500 hiring managers at companies with 20 or more employees in the U.S. More than half (52%) of companies said they're planning to hire for new permanent positions in the second half of the year and another 43% plan to fill vacancies.

"Companies have been running pretty lean for most of the year and are finally reaching the point where their staff is feeling overworked or, in some cases, struggling with burnout," says Fay. "They're looking to recruit people in strategic positions to support those critical business needs." 

Where the 'biggest demand' for talent is

If you're looking for a new job — or planning to start your search soon — you might want to consider opportunities in health care or government. 

On ZipRecruiter, these roles have seen the most "consistent demand" in recent months, a trend Pollak attributes, in part, to the fact that these industries are still recovering from pandemic-era job losses. 

In addition to health care and government, business and professional services, which includes jobs such as consultants, accountants and project managers, have also been "leading the charge" on hiring this summer, Robert Half found. 

"These are the fields where we've seen the biggest demand for talent," Fay says. 

How to stand out in a competitive job market

To those on the job market, Fay has one big piece of advice: "Cast a wide net and have an open mind." 

Also: "Don't underestimate the power of networking." 

"No matter what kind of market it is, networking is a smart strategy that can help you land a job," Fay explains. "Hiring managers love referrals because existing employees hopefully know the company well enough to refer people who are a good fit."

When you're screening thousands of candidates, "that can save you a lot of time and effort," she adds.

Pollak offers a different piece of advice: "In a more competitive job market, you want to be first and fast." 

That means setting up job alerts and applying to opportunities as soon as they're posted online, as well as sending timely responses to recruiters who reach out and follow-up emails after a job interview. 

Otherwise, Pollak says, "You could lose out on opportunities to someone who beats you to the punch."

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