RALEIGH – If hiring at 40 of the largest firms in the Triangle is a “canary in the coal mine” about the impact of an economic slowdown then the precious bird is still breathing. Just not as well, according to data tracked by WRAL TechWire.
Yes, there’s a steady, consistent labor market in the Triangle, if viewed through the aggregate total number of job openings at 40 of the region’s employers. But just because the number has been relatively consistent in recent weeks, spanning between 4,000 and 4,200 openings, doesn’t mean that all firms have similar hiring patterns.
Some firms have added jobs in the last month even as many of the firms tracked by WRAL TechWire have decreased the number of job openings, according to the latest WRAL TechWire Jobs Report.
So what’s happening?
“It will be more difficult for firms in the Triangle to decide on a job strategy because they are faced by two factors pulling in opposite directions,” said Dr. Michael Walden, a Reynolds Distinguished Professor Emeritus at North Carolina State University and a regular contributor to WRAL TechWire. “Many national indicators of a slowing economy, but knowledge that the Triangle is still a coveted region for economic growth.”
So what could happen to drive down hiring?
“What could push local firms consistently to the “slow” side would be absolute evidence the national economy is decelerating at a faster pace.” Walden said.
“Or, if the Fed choses to “go big” with a rate hike of 1 percentage point at a future meeting.”
But workers ought to consider this, Walden noted: “Keep the job you have, strive to be indispensable, and if you don’t have a job, take the first one that meets your minimum requirements.”
Where are the jobs in the Triangle?
- Amazon: 65 job openings in the Triangle (down 12 openings a week ago), though some roles can be done remotely, according to the company’s career page. Amazon is closing multiple North Carolina facilities, though a company spokesperson told WRAL TechWire that Amazon is not laying off any workers. Workers at an Amazon facility in Garner continue efforts to unionize including speaking with other Amazon workers in the state. The company is also hiring for more than 1,000 roles in North Carolina
- Apple (corporate roles): 59 job openings in the Triangle, according to the company’s career page, down one role from a week ago. The company announced the iPhone 14 and other products at an event produced earlier this year.
- Bandwidth: 26 job openings in Raleigh, according to the company’s career page. The company will require its employees to work in-person five days per week, WRAL TechWire reported this month.
- BASF: 30 job openings in the Triangle, according to the company’s career page
- BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina: 44 job openings in the Triangle, according to the company’s career page
- BD: 15 job openings in the Triangle, according to the company’s career page
- Cisco: 200 job openings in Research Triangle Park, according to the company’s career page
- Citrix: 20 job openings in Raleigh, according to the company’s career page
- Credit Suisse: 56 job openings in the Triangle, according to the company’s career page. Stock prices plunged in early October and the company is required to pay a big $234 million fine. The company has 60 fewer job openings than a month ago.
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More Triangle job openings
- Duke Energy: 10 job openings in the Triangle, according to the company’s career page, the same as last week.
- Eaton: 76 job openings in Raleigh, according to the company’s career page. Earlier this year, the company announced plans to hire about 170 workers who will be based in the company’s revamped Raleigh office. There are 10 more openings this week compared to last.
- Eli Lilly: 38 job openings in Research Triangle Park, according to the company’s career page
- Fidelity Investments: 572 job openings in Durham, according to the company’s career page, down from 581 openings a week ago
- FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies: 40 job openings in the Triangle, according to the company’s career page, down 17 job postings from a month ago
- Google: 255 job openings in Durham, according to the company’s career page. The company is making cuts in some areas of the company but is expected to continue to hire for the Durham engineering hub, WRAL TechWire reported earlier this year. The company is hiring for 55 more positions than it was a month ago.
- Grifols: 107 job openings in North Carolina, including in Durham and Clayton, according to the company’s career page, down 14 roles from a month ago
- GlaxoSmithKline: 113 job openings in Durham, according to the company’s career page
- IBM: 4 job opening in RTP, according to the company’s career page. There’s been no change in recent weeks, though the company said it would continue to hire in August. IBM CEO Arvind Krishna celebrated Red Hat during the company’s most recent earnings call but some former workers are upset with the firm for changes to healthcare benefits plans.
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Jobs remain open at these firms
- IQVIA: 359 job openings in RTP, according to the company’s career page (down 10 jobs from a week ago and down 61 openings compared to a month ago)
- Kyndryl: 79 job openings in RTP, according to the company’s career page
- Labcorp: 278 job openings in Burlington, N.C., according to the company’s career page, an increase of 18 postings from a month ago
- Lenovo: 248 job openings in Morrisville, according to the company’s career page, down 59 postings from a month ago.
- MetLife: 121 job openings in Cary, according to the company’s career page, down 6 openings from a week ago. MetLife told WRAL TechWire recently that it planned to hire 400 workers by New Year’s Day and will host an employer informational session through NC TECH today.
- Merck: 13 job openings in the Triangle, according to the company’s career page
- Microsoft: 12 job openings in Raleigh, according to the company’s career page. The company confirmed last week it planned to make job cuts, with some 1,000 workers affected.
- NetApp: 102 job openings in the Triangle, according to the company’s career page
- Novo Nordisk: 206 jobs in the Triangle, according to the company’s career page. And even more jobs could be coming to the Novo Nordisk location in Johnston County, WRAL TechWire reported earlier this month. (Some prior weekly reports underreported the total number of available company jobs in the Triangle, due to an error from WRAL TechWire.)
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Additional Triangle jobs
- Novartis: 5 job openings in the Triangle, according to the company’s career page. The company is closing a Wilson plant.
- Pendo: 10 job openings in Raleigh, according to the company’s career page. The technology unicorn did announce there would be Pendo layoffs earlier this year totaling less than 5% of the company’s workforce, and less than two dozen employees in Raleigh affected.
- Pfizer: 100 job openings in North Carolina, according to the company’s career page
- Red Hat: 22 job openings in Raleigh, according to the company’s career page. Red Hat is owned by IBM and recently had a leadership change.
- RTI International: 128 job openings in Durham, according to the company’s career page, up 12 openings from last week
- SAS: 127 job openings in Cary, according to the company’s career page, down 24 openings from last month. Some of the available roles are remote-based positions.
- Science 37: 2 job openings that could be based in Raleigh, though some other roles are remote positions
- Sensus (Xylem): 46 job openings in the Triangle, according to the company’s career page
- Spectrum: 39 job openings in the Triangle, according to the company’s career page
- Syneos Health: 6 job openings in Raleigh, according to the company’s career page
- Toshiba Global Commerce: 105 openings in Durham, according to the company’s career page, up 41 roles from a month ago.
- Wolfspeed: 240 job openings in Durham, according to the company’s career page. The company announced a $5 billion investment that is expected to bring some 1,800 jobs to the region, as reported earlier this year by WRAL TechWire.
