Insider Today: The hottest job markets

• This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.

It's Saturday, buds! After moving from one high-rent city (New York City) to another one (San Diego) I often think about what life would be like in an RV instead. Stories like this one — of an RV-life couple who live seasonally at a ski resort and winery — make it even more tantalizing. Plus, they broke down their living and lifestyle expenses.

Speaking of change and mobility, if you're looking for a new job, we have an inside look at how competitive job hunting currently is. That's our big story for today.

What's on deck:

• Travel: What it's like — and misconceptions of — living on a narrowboat.
• Careers: A CEO's unintentional masterclass in climbing the corporate ladder.
• Life: The heavily discounted world of salvage stores.

But first, the competition is fierce.

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The big story

Brush up those résumés

Bad news for job hunters: You're competing with more people for a job now, compared with the same time period one or two years ago.

The past few years have been relatively good for job seekers. Companies were essentially "bidding" for employees and offering higher wages, perks, and the option to work from home.

But that was when there were fewer available workers per job opening. Now, the power continues its yearlong shift back to employers. And those benefits that lured workers in are slowly getting stripped away.

Overall, the US job market is still pretty strong. But the competition is getting fierce.

For one, wages have been growing. And since 2021, there's consistently been more open jobs than unemployed people, according to government data.

However, data from LinkedIn shared with Insider comparing job vacancies with active applicants paints a more complex image.

"In pretty much every single industry nationally in the United States, employers have started to cut back on the number of jobs," Rand Ghayad, LinkedIn's head of economics and global markets, told me. "And at the same time more people have started to come back to the labor market."

Ghayad added that "on average, I think every single industry is moving or deviating back to its pre-pandemic average."

But despite the increased competition, experienced candidates have less to worry about, said Mike Steinitz, an executive at talent and consulting firm Robert Half. He told me that even if there are troves of applicants to a certain role, the number of qualified candidates isn't very large.

So for those interested in searching for a new gig, don't let the competition deter you. In fact, Q4 could be an interesting time to start your search, according to Steinitz.

"On the one hand, you've got a lot of folks that are not going to want to leave, because they don't want to abandon the possibility of a year-end bonus," Steinitz told me. "But by the other token, you have people that often think, 'Okay, new year, new job.' So there's a lot of things at play that could help drive the market."

For more of our careers coverage:

• Less than one-third of workers worldwide think they have a healthy relationship with work
• "I quit my nearly 6-figure corporate job to work at Trader Joe's for $17 an hour"
• College students might be learning skills that are "obsolete" once they graduate, Indeed CEO said

3 things in travel

1. A 115-year-old Japanese prison is being turned into a luxury hotel. The Former Nara Prison was built in 1908 and is designated as a cultural property in Japan. Hoshino Resorts is transforming it into a hotel, which will feature a restaurant, lounge, and museum for day visitors.
2. No more tourists — a popular "leaf-peeping" spot is closed to the public. Pomfret, Vermont isn't letting tourists in during the height of the fall foliage season. Local residents are fed up with the visitors who have been reportedly caught trespassing, flying drones, and even urinating behind shrubbery.
3. Video footage shows passengers attempting to storm a Brussels Airlines plane. After their flight was canceled twice, passengers confronted staff on the tarmac. Then, they collectively pushed toward the plane.

3 things in careers

1. New England + new grad = new job. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire are among the best states for new grads to find a job. Rankings were based on job market and work conditions, affordability, crime and safety, workplace diversity, and health and leisure.
2. The Pret a Manger CEO's viral resume. Pano Christou has worked at the British food chain for more than two decades. And his career path is a masterclass in climbing the corporate ladder. He started as an assistant manager in 2000 and was named CEO in 2019.
3. Entrepreneur doubles down on paying overseas workers $4 per hour. The 23-year-old entrepreneur's business model stirred a debate on whether the practice is fair. After facing criticism, he challenged people to debate him and shared screenshots of people asking to work for him.

3 things in life

1. Owning the "situationship" — young people are embracing it as a valid relationship status. It's not quite friends with benefits. Nor is it casual dating. And people in situationships tend to still consider themselves single. It's a rather undefined territory that works for an increasing number of people.
2. The heavily discounted world of salvage stores. They sell things like furniture, home improvement items, pet supplies, and more all under one roof. Part of the fun is that you never know what you'll find — it could be J. Crew shirts for $1 or Madewell jeans for $19.
3. These Gen Z tattoo trends could be deeply uncool when Gen Alpha starts getting inked. Tattoo experts revealed the current trends that'll likely become outdated soon, including fine-line tattoos and astrology. But trends like butterflies and tiny tattoos will likely stay.

In other news

• Why it's illegal to skiplag on cruises between two US ports.
• The seven most challenging airports for pilots to take off and land at.
• A review of Aldi's fall foods and drinks.
• Designer duuuupe: The shoe section at Target has similar styles to Gucci, Golden Goose, and more.
• A jumbo-sized Monopoly (Costco's Version) was just released.
• The rise and fall of Tupperware, once an American kitchen icon.

For your bookmarks

Capitol architecture

Here's what the capitol building looks like in every US state. Many are similar to the US capitol, while others (like Kansas with its statue-topped dome) are more unique.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, senior editor and anchor, in New York City. Diamond Naga Siu, senior reporter, in San Diego. Hallam Bullock, editor, in London. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York.