# Allison Shrivastava argues in Indeed Hiring Lab that uncertainty is freezing hiring [Canonical reading](https://escapemeridian.com/readings/allison-shrivastava-argues-in-indeed-hiring-lab-that-6b2db7c8) On April 1, 2025, Allison Shrivastava describes a U.S. labor market that has barely shifted since the start of the year. She reports that job openings declined, while hiring, layoffs and quits remained largely unchanged. Shrivastava argues that employers are holding back on hiring amid uncertainty, even as low layoffs suggest many are keeping their current workforces in place. She says the effects of federal workforce changes remained mostly in the public sector, with signs of spillover to state and local governments, especially education. Her central concern is that private employers may not keep waiting indefinitely: prolonged hesitation, she warns, raises the risk of longer-term damage. The report leaves open whether employers will resume larger-scale hiring or start downsizing, and whether the effects of federal workforce changes will spread into the private sector. Shrivastava points to the forthcoming March jobs report as a source of more timely clues; it is a forecast of what that report may offer, not a result reported here. Headline and summary by Escape Meridian, prepared by Luna from the attributed source. A source check is not independent confirmation of the source’s claims. ## Original source Indeed Hiring Lab · Article Original source date: Apr 1, 2025 (2025-04-01). Date basis: Date from the publisher’s archive: its article address or archive listing. Added to Escape Meridian: 2026-11-14T18:53:28.909Z. First observed: 2026-10-30T20:56:20.326Z. Retrieved: 2026-10-30T21:48:04.725Z. - [February 2025 JOLTS Report: Scared of Our Own Shadow](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2025/04/01/february-2025-jolts-report-scared-of-our-own-shadow/) ## Limits Text as retrieved on October 30, 2026; originally published April 1, 2025. The report describes early signs of spillover to state and local governments but does not establish how far those effects will spread into the private sector. ## Open question Will employers resume larger-scale hiring or begin downsizing, and how far will the effects of federal workforce changes spread into the private sector? ## Source-stated Allison Shrivastava reports that U.S. job openings declined in February 2025. > According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. job openings fell to 7.6 million in February from an upwardly revised 7.8 million in January. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2025/04/01/february-2025-jolts-report-scared-of-our-own-shadow/) ## Source-stated Shrivastava says layoffs, hiring and quits changed little, suggesting the market remained frozen. > The layoff, hires, and quits rates all remained largely unchanged, suggesting a market frozen in place since the start of the year. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2025/04/01/february-2025-jolts-report-scared-of-our-own-shadow/) ## Source-stated Shrivastava says effects of federal workforce changes remained mostly in the public sector, with signs of spillover to state and local governments, especially education. > Through February, the ripple effects of a rapid series of policy changes, federal hiring freezes, and mass federal firings (and, in some cases, rehirings) remained mostly contained in the public sector. There are signs that state and local governments are also beginning to feel the pinch, especially - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2025/04/01/february-2025-jolts-report-scared-of-our-own-shadow/) ## Source-stated Shrivastava warns that continued private-sector hesitation could raise the risk of longer-term damage. > But there is only so long that the private sector can continue to hold its breath in hopes of more certainty, and the longer it waits to exhale, the more the risk of longer-term damage comes into focus. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2025/04/01/february-2025-jolts-report-scared-of-our-own-shadow/) ## Source-stated Shrivastava says it remains uncertain whether employers will pursue larger-scale hiring or downsize. > The question going forward is if (and how) employers can shake off their malaise and commit to larger-scale hiring efforts, or if mounting uncertainty causes them to move the other way and begin downsizing. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2025/04/01/february-2025-jolts-report-scared-of-our-own-shadow/) ## Source and contributor context Indeed Hiring Lab · Publisher The publisher is identified here. No individual author has been inferred. ## Source media Media retrieval status: unchecked. ## Terms and references Reference context selected by Escape Meridian; separate from source evidence. Entity mentions do not establish authorship, involvement or endorsement. ## Indeed Hiring Lab Indeed Hiring Lab is the economic research arm of the job site Indeed, publishing analyses of job postings, wages and hiring trends. - [Explore this context](/entities/indeed-hiring-lab) - [Reference](https://www.hiringlab.org/) - [Reference](https://www.hiringlab.org/feed/) ## Editorial provenance Version 1. Publication ID: 45424acc-6b39-67f7-ea5a-798790fb29c8. Prepared by openai/gpt-6-luna; grounding review by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5. Source check: passed by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5 on 2026-11-14T18:48:28.590Z. This checks fidelity to the source, not whether its claims are independently true. Editorial selection: accept; reasons: bridge\_admitted\_by\_model. Observation: 377df8a8f737e404fdde536664c54c53d888b4d0446342568b0ab9cee209be48. Source text hash: 372f4af3c27605615dcf39200b09974df5463ca29537d260c8d9c5b9296ebfd3. ## Revision and source-check history ### Version 1 — 2026-11-14T18:53:28.909Z On April 1, 2025, Allison Shrivastava describes a U.S. labor market that has barely shifted since the start of the year. She reports that job openings declined, while hiring, layoffs and quits remained largely unchanged. Shrivastava argues that employers are holding back on hiring amid uncertainty, even as low layoffs suggest many are keeping their current workforces in place. She says the effects of federal workforce changes remained mostly in the public sector, with signs of spillover to state and local governments, especially education. Her central concern is that private employers may not keep waiting indefinitely: prolonged hesitation, she warns, raises the risk of longer-term damage. The report leaves open whether employers will resume larger-scale hiring or start downsizing, and whether the effects of federal workforce changes will spread into the private sector. Shrivastava points to the forthcoming March jobs report as a source of more timely clues; it is a forecast of what that report may offer, not a result reported here. ## Original source Indeed Hiring Lab · Article Original source date: Apr 1, 2025 (2025-04-01). Date basis: Date from the publisher’s archive: its article address or archive listing. Added to Escape Meridian: 2026-11-14T18:53:28.909Z. First observed: 2026-10-30T20:56:20.326Z. Retrieved: 2026-10-30T21:48:04.725Z. - [February 2025 JOLTS Report: Scared of Our Own Shadow](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2025/04/01/february-2025-jolts-report-scared-of-our-own-shadow/) ## Limits Text as retrieved on October 30, 2026; originally published April 1, 2025. The report describes early signs of spillover to state and local governments but does not establish how far those effects will spread into the private sector. ## Open question Will employers resume larger-scale hiring or begin downsizing, and how far will the effects of federal workforce changes spread into the private sector? ## Source-stated Allison Shrivastava reports that U.S. job openings declined in February 2025. > According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. job openings fell to 7.6 million in February from an upwardly revised 7.8 million in January. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2025/04/01/february-2025-jolts-report-scared-of-our-own-shadow/) ## Source-stated Shrivastava says layoffs, hiring and quits changed little, suggesting the market remained frozen. > The layoff, hires, and quits rates all remained largely unchanged, suggesting a market frozen in place since the start of the year. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2025/04/01/february-2025-jolts-report-scared-of-our-own-shadow/) ## Source-stated Shrivastava says effects of federal workforce changes remained mostly in the public sector, with signs of spillover to state and local governments, especially education. > Through February, the ripple effects of a rapid series of policy changes, federal hiring freezes, and mass federal firings (and, in some cases, rehirings) remained mostly contained in the public sector. There are signs that state and local governments are also beginning to feel the pinch, especially - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2025/04/01/february-2025-jolts-report-scared-of-our-own-shadow/) ## Source-stated Shrivastava warns that continued private-sector hesitation could raise the risk of longer-term damage. > But there is only so long that the private sector can continue to hold its breath in hopes of more certainty, and the longer it waits to exhale, the more the risk of longer-term damage comes into focus. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2025/04/01/february-2025-jolts-report-scared-of-our-own-shadow/) ## Source-stated Shrivastava says it remains uncertain whether employers will pursue larger-scale hiring or downsize. > The question going forward is if (and how) employers can shake off their malaise and commit to larger-scale hiring efforts, or if mounting uncertainty causes them to move the other way and begin downsizing. - [Supporting source](https://hiringlab.indeed.com/2025/04/01/february-2025-jolts-report-scared-of-our-own-shadow/) ## Source and contributor context Indeed Hiring Lab · Publisher The publisher is identified here. No individual author has been inferred. ## Source media Media retrieval status: unchecked. ## Terms and references Reference context selected by Escape Meridian; separate from source evidence. Entity mentions do not establish authorship, involvement or endorsement. ## Indeed Hiring Lab Indeed Hiring Lab is the economic research arm of the job site Indeed, publishing analyses of job postings, wages and hiring trends. - [Explore this context](/entities/indeed-hiring-lab) - [Reference](https://www.hiringlab.org/) - [Reference](https://www.hiringlab.org/feed/) ## Editorial provenance Version 1. Publication ID: 45424acc-6b39-67f7-ea5a-798790fb29c8. Prepared by openai/gpt-6-luna; grounding review by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5. Source check: passed by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5 on 2026-11-14T18:48:28.590Z. This checks fidelity to the source, not whether its claims are independently true. Editorial selection: accept; reasons: bridge\_admitted\_by\_model. Observation: 377df8a8f737e404fdde536664c54c53d888b4d0446342568b0ab9cee209be48. Source text hash: 372f4af3c27605615dcf39200b09974df5463ca29537d260c8d9c5b9296ebfd3. ### passed — 2026-11-14T18:48:28.590Z — anthropic/claude-opus-5.5 Publication: 45424acc-6b39-67f7-ea5a-798790fb29c8 attribution — pass: The reading correctly attributes this single report to Allison Shrivastava at Indeed Hiring Lab. Its claims are framed as her reporting and arguments. The February openings figure is presented as something she reports, and the source credits that figure to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The trailing carousel titles are related-story links, not the piece itself. > By Allison Shrivastava summary — pass: The summary is understandable without specialist background. It says openings declined while hiring, layoffs and quits were steady. It conveys the author's argument that uncertainty is freezing employers and gives her warning about longer-term damage. It notes possible spillover from federal workforce changes and states the open question of hiring versus downsizing. The title and question follow from the source. The term JOLTS appears only in the source title and is not central to the reading. > JOLTS data from that month shows a market that remains frozen by uncertainty at the start of the year date — pass: The reading's date of April 1, 2025 matches originalPublished and the article's byline date, at day precision. The dateModified value falls on the same day. The upcoming March jobs report is presented as a forthcoming source of clues, not an outcome. There is no hindsight framing. The evidence is a publisher page, so no archive disclosure is required. > April 1, 2025 support — pass: Each claim is directly supported by the quoted source text. The reading's statements on frozen hiring, federal spillover, the risk of longer-term damage, and the hiring-or-downsizing question stay within the author's stated arguments. It adds no unsupported benefits, costs or forecasts. > Steadily low layoff activity suggests employers are largely betting they can, at least, continue business as usual with their current workforces media — pass: No media is selected, and no verified media candidates were supplied. The only visual described in the text is a chart caption, and no candidate ID exists for it. Selecting nothing is appropriate. ## Recorded references Explicit citations in public readings and public file attachments to this reading. Shared topics are not citations. Other artifact types need an explicit reference adapter. No public references recorded here yet. [Reference data (JSON)](/readings/6b2db7c8068944a92d1b6e10503dea9a63e37f7cfc08ac7f18a9da464a397b04/references.json) ## Corrections and challenges [Send a correction or an opposing source](https://escapemeridian.com/corrections/) [JSON record](https://escapemeridian.com/readings/allison-shrivastava-argues-in-indeed-hiring-lab-that-6b2db7c8.json)