Are job orders going up or down? And what does it take to fill them? Each month, Bullhorn tracks key indicators from our proprietary data to reveal changes in the global hiring landscape. Check in at the start of every month for the latest trends in permanent and temporary hiring.
Month ending April 30, 2026 Last updated May 5, 2026
Job fill rates still climbing
Temporary job orders declined about 2% this month, but remain up 6.4% compared to 2025. And fill rate jumped almost 5% this month, putting it 11% above where they were this time in 2025. The steady increase in fill rate over the past 3 years signals ongoing momentum and even acceleration in the temporary staffing market. Recruiter effort declined slightly this month, but has been largely stable over the last year. In spite of the marginal drop in job orders per recruiter, the signs for the temporary staffing market are still very positive. However, the impact of the war in the Middle East remains uncertain.
Permanent job orders declined around 3% this month, and are 1% above 2025 levels. But the job fill rate saw a substantial increase this month, up 8.4% from March and up 8.4% compared to the prior year. Again this signals an accelerating market, especially since recruiter effort has also been largely stable on the permanent side. The next few months should make it clearer if this reflects a genuine return to hiring confidence.
Job orders decline in April
Temp job fill rate 11% above 2025
Recruiter effort remains stable in April
Methodology
Hiring outlook metrics were calculated from Bullhorn ATS data for customers that have opted in to share aggregated data. Customers were qualified as professional or commercial if the majority of their placements were within these industries. Temporary/contingent placements are those with a set end date; permanent/direct hire placements are those without.
Jobs orders per recruiter is calculated as the volume of job order records created divided by the unique number of users within the calendar month.
Job fill rate is calculated as the proportion of job order records that were placed within 90 days of their open date. This is a trailing indicator that covers jobs created three calendar months prior to the period.
Submissions per job order is calculated as the volume of client submissions divided by the volume of job orders in the period. This metric represents records created in the previous calendar month.
