Santa Monica, CA: According to multiple well-connected sources, ZipRecruiter, the high-flying employment marketplace that seemed to occupy every ad spot on tv and radio for a period of time, is reportedly laying off its entire contract recruiting team. Leaving the irony aside, this is a troubling sign. As industry veteran Jonathan Duarte put it:

This is a major sign that they are seeing red across all industries and all size businesses. They are the front lines. They have SMB to enterprise customers, so if they are doing the math, it's something to watch.

Clearly things are choppy. Gig workers, in particular, are watching their revenue dry up rapidly. Hourly workers are being hit nearly as hard - and ZipRecruiter made substantial money servicing the hourly sector (sous chefs, security guards, front desk workers, etc). The cut back on contract recruiters may simply be a defensive move, but with recruiters from organizations as large as Walmart, American Airlines, and others worried they, too, may be receiving pink slips soon, this may well turn out to be a bellwether event.

We have reached out to ZipRecruiter for their statement, and will update if/ when we receive one.