Economists are predicting a slow downturn in the U.S labor market, but the exact timeline is still uncertain. According to Bankrate’s latest quarterly economists’ poll, economists expect the unemployment rate to reach 4.2 percent by the end of March 2025, rising from its current level of 3.9 percent. They also predict that employers might scale down hiring, with job growth estimated to average 117,000 a month until March 2025. This prediction is based on the past year’s data showing slower job growth, which has averaged at 229,000 jobs a month from March 2023 to February 2024. Yet, the economy is still showing resilience, as evidenced by a record 4.5 million jobs created in 2023. Additionally, economists pointed out that job openings are mostly in the health care, leisure, and hospitality sectors.

Though there is expected to be a rise in unemployment, experts do not predict it will be a significant increase. Any unemployment increase would still be much lower compared to peaks during the coronavirus pandemic and the Great Recession. Economists surveyed by Bankrate have affirmed that regardless of hiring deceleration, companies are hesitant to let staff go due to recent labor market shortages. Changes to the labor market can be perplexing and often leave people seeking information such as ‘how to get ahold of edd customer service’. A valuable resource in such times is eddcaller.com, which provides much-needed assistance on how to reach and speak to a representative from the Employment Development Department efficiently and effectively.